Under Your Spell
by mushs-grl13
Summary: Dally's sister, Willow Winston was kidnapped from their home in New York by a Soc when they were young. As a result, Dally grew cold toward everyone. 9 years later in Tulsa, Dally and Willow find each other, but now she's a Soc.
1. An Unfortunate Beginning

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders...S.E Hinton does. I just own the characters you don't see in the book or movie. :) Oh, and I'm going by movies descriptions to let you know. I love the descriptions in the book, but It'd be easier for me to use movie descriptions, please don't hate me. :( lol.**

-Casey

Chapter 1. "An Unfortunate Beginning"

_New York 1950. _

"Dally!" Wait for meeee!" I called. It seemed so very long ago, I was a young girl about the age of 7. I hadn't any troubles in the world. I ran after my older brother in my little blue dress, with my waist length red hair traveling after me as I ran. My brother Dallas was 9, and my hero. We did everything together. Nothing ever meant more to me in my whole seven years of living. I know that's not saying much. But not even toys mattered more than him. And when you're seven, that's truly saying something!

We were on our way home from picking up a few things at the grocery store for our parents. Dally was the one that usually went, but I begged him to go. I usually did. He never had a problem with it. We were close as could be.

"Will, if you don't learn to keep up, I just might leave you behind!" Dally joked. I stopped in my tracks, and pretended to look pouty. Of course, being Dally, he'd never fall for it. "Faker!" He yelled with a laugh. With that, he walked up to me and slung me over his shoulder. I attempted to shake free but when I was over his shoulder, there was just no getting down. He was pretty strong for his age.

"Dal, put me down!" I cried. I could hardly get the words out because I was giggling so much. I loved my brother more than words could ever say. "Well why don't you make me?" He teased. Truth is, he never put me down until we got home. But it was one of the best days ever...the best day not including the night time. Because the night time was when the problem began. The night, where my life was changed forever.

That night, my mom and dad were putting Dally and I to bed after a long day of fun. "You get some sleep now." My mom said with a smile, giving me a kiss on the forehead. My dad did the same and whispered in my ear, "Have a good night's sleep princess." I giggled. I always loved it when he called me princess. Whenever he would say it, I would always feel like a princess.

"Goodnight Mommy, goodnight Daddy." I said shutting my eyes and turning onto my side. Then they went over to Dally's room and said their good nights to him and left.

After a few minutes I got out of bed and walked over to Dally's room. I always walked over to his room in the middle of the night. It always made me feel safer. I layed down next to him and he put his arm around me to keep me warm. "I love you Willow." He spoke softly in my ear. "I love you too, Dally." I responded happily, drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

This would sound like a peaceful night, and nothing could go wrong. I felt safe, but the truth was, I wasn't. Not at all. You see, my parents were both into pretty bad things. Drugs. But they had to stop when we were young, because they worked up a pretty huge debt, and they never payed it. So we had to move to New York because of the dealer. You've always heard the saying, "Don't run away from your problems...they'll always find you." I really wish my parents would've listened, because it was one of their biggest mistakes. But they were through with that lifestyle, and they moved us away from Tulsa just to make a better life for Dally and I. But the dealer wasn't through with them.

I heard a loud bang come from outside. I sat up and looked at Dally. He was still asleep. That boy could sleep through anything. I took the opportunity to get up and go to my own bed. I walked quickly to my room, layed down and pulled the covers up to my chin. I waited for a few minutes and didn't hear anything else. So I gradually eased back into sleep. It didn't seem long before I was jolted awake by something.

A hand was pressed hard against my mouth to keep me from screaming. And I felt myself being dragged from my bed. I struggled but then I heard a whisper in my ear say, "Struggle, and you die." So I obeyed. I really didn't want to die at the age of seven. But that didn't mean that I didn't start crying. Even though no one could hear me because he still had his hand pressed tightly against my mouth. I saw him drop a piece of paper on my pillow, and next thing I knew, he dragged me out of the house with him. I looked back at the house while he drove away with me thrown in the backseat. There were beer cans everywhere...and more trash than I had ever seen in a car. The one thing I took notice of, when I was being thrown into the car was that it was a blue mustang. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

_(This is more of the POV of the parents and Dally) _

The next morning, Mr. and Mrs. Winston began their normal daily routine, with making breakfast and getting the kids ready for school. Dally came down the stairs with his back pack, and he placed it on the chair. "Dally sweetie, can you go see if your sister's getting ready?" Mrs. Winston asked, cracking an egg into the frying pan. 

"Yes, mom." He smiled, and went up the stairs. "Willowwww." He called teasingly. He always teased her by calling out her name in an animal calling sort of tone. It sounded really eerie, like a werewolf. But Dally liked to tease her. He could already tell something was up because there was no answer from inside her room. "Will?" He asked, and knocked on the door -- still no answer.

He gently turned the knob and pushed the door open. He looked around, but there was no sign of Willow anywhere. So he tried looking around the upstairs for wherever else she could be. After looking for 10 minutes, he couldn't find her. He ran down the stairs calling out for their mother and father. "Mom! Dad! Willow's gone!"

His father looked up from his morning paper and took a sip of his coffee. "What do you mean Willow's gone Dallas?" He asked incredulously, thinking it might be one of their old pranks.

"She's not in her room, the bathroom, my room, your room, closets...I checked everywhere!" Dally cried.

"You're sure you checked her room?" Mrs. Winston asked getting a little worried. She placed down the spatula and looked at her son for any sign of a prank. He looked dead serious.

"Mom, come with me, she's not there." Dally said taking his mother by the hand and leading her upstairs. She followed, with her heart beating a bit faster. He pulled her through the already opened door. "See? She's not here." Dally said, near tears.

She wasn't saying anything for a minute, and Dally followed her gaze to the bed where there was a piece of paper laying on the bed. Mrs. Winston walked slowly to the bed and picked up the piece of paper. She read it and nearly fainted. She fell onto the bed in shock, dropping the paper. "She's gone..." Mrs. Winston spoke in disbelief. "Willow...she's...gone...not Willow..." She started saying under her breath. Soon she got up and started shouting for her husband frantically.

While Mrs. Winston ran out of the room. Dally's gaze fell onto the paper on the floor. He slowly picked it up. He sat down on the bed and read silently...

_Ryan and Natalie,_

Did you really think that I wouldn't find you? You really must think I'm stupid. You can't run from me, when you haven't paid what you owe. At first, I thought your daughter would make a wonderful ransom, and that could somehow make you see reason to pay. But, I gave it some thought. Your family is not like mine. You're not rich...you're not even close to rich.

So, in return for your debt, I've taken your daughter. She'll make a fine Soc under my care. Don't you worry about that. She'll have the finest of everything. You're finally paying the debt you owe me. Only now, I pick in what terms you pay. I know your view on Soc's. I know how much you think they're distasteful. So, I'm going to raise your daughter as if she was my own.

I'll make her see why your kind is filth. You're nothing but wasted space on this earth. And under my care, she'll always believe that. That's a promise I intend to keep.

Enjoy your lives, it's been a pleasure.

Jeffrey. 

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

**So, what do you guys think so far? Should I keep going? I hope you guys like it. The story may seem a little unclear at first, but it'll become clearer. Oh, and if it wasn't clear in the summary, Willow's raised to be a Soc. Which will be covered in the next chapter. And she builds feeling for Soda later on. If anything else seems unclear, tell me in a review. Please read and review, I hope you like it!**

**-Casey.**


	2. A Sunset Like No Other

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders...S.E Hinton does. I however own, Willow, and everyone you don't see in the book or the movie. **

**-Casey**

**--Just to let you know, this story will jump POV's sometimes. But the story is mostly in Willow's POV, since she's the main character. But it will switch to Dally sometimes or someone else. But mostly Dally if it does switch. the rest of the time it's Willow. **

_**To the Reviewers:**_

_iheartponyboy33__ - I'm glad you like it! I'm really into writing and I had this written by last night, and I'm working on chapter 3 already. Thanks for reviewing!_

_Izziecakes__ - Lol, you're not a freak lol. I like red hair a lot. My hair's red. :P But I thought it would be cool to do something with red hair for a change, I used to do black hair a lot on my characters so it's a good change. :) But yeah to clear up confusion, they used to live in Tulsa, but had to move to Minnesota to escape the dealer, but he went to Minnesota and found them, and then he took Willow with him back to Tulsa. And then the Winstons give up searching and knows the dealer is finished with them so they move back to Tulsa as well, not expecting that he would be there with Willow. Lol, hope that clears it up. :D Thanks for reviewing!_

_brittbrittsade__ - Thanks! I wanted to do something more original, because there's a lot of those, Greasers sisters stories out there, and I tried to make it a little out of the ordinary. Thanks for reviewing!_

_Rugrats101__ - Well, she's been raised to be a no-good Soc sadly, but who knows what the future holds. Thanks for the review!_

_WhoaaReally53__ - Aww you're sweet. Truth be told, I didn't know if this story was going to be a hit or not, it was something I thought I'd try since people liked my last Outsiders fic, and I just got the special edition DVD for my birthday. I have the original DVD too, and the special edition is amazing! I swear, it put me right back in my Outsiders mood to see all the missing footage. lol. Yep, I love Outsiders as you can tell. :) and I'm re-reading the book again. Go Outsiders! lol, ok, I talked your ear off lol. Thanks for the review!_

_  
__NewGirlOnTheBlock__ - your wish is my command, another chapter is here! Thanks for reviewing!_

_  
__Dark-Celeste__ - Ohhh my too! I love Soda. I have a thing for Soda, Dally and Two-Bit lol. But jeez Soda's too adorable not to write about. So this will definately be Soda romance. Thanks so much for the review!_

**Thanks _so_ much for the reviews guys! It really keeps me going! I'm glad to see that you guys like it! Now I get to keep going, cuz I'm reaaaalllly into writing it right now. Chapter 3 is in the process of being written so, enjoy chapter 2!**

**xoxo - Casey**

**Chapter 2. "A Sunset Like No Other."**

_Tulsa Oklahoma, Same year._

"Willow, you're not to speak like your parents did. Or your brother for that matter. You will grow up sophisticated, and worth a damn in this world. Understand?" The man spoke sternly.

I just stared and brushed away some tears running down my cheeks. I was so frightened I could hardly move. I was leaning up against a wall in an office looking place of some sort. I didn't know why the man had taken me here, or really what he intended on doing with me. He kept speaking about what I was going to grow up like, and my future.

"I said, do you _understand_?" He repeated, grabbing me roughly by the shoulders. I tensed up in fright. He was going to hurt me I just knew it. So I nodded quickly and promptly.

"That's my girl. Now give daddy a hug." He said, embracing me in an awkward and uncomfortable hug.

All throughout that time all I could think of was, _"You're not my daddy." _But I wasn't in the position to argue, so I thought it was best to do as I was told. And eventually, my _real_ daddy would come and save me. I mean, he had to..._right?_

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_9 Years Later; Tulsa Oklahoma (Where everything is taking place lol.)_

Dally's POV__

"Hey Dal." Came a voice. I was suddenly snapped back into reality by Two-Bit. I took a puff of my cigarette and glanced at Two-Bit. "What?" I asked lazily.

"Sorry, you were just kinda zoning out. Thought I'd bring you back." Two-Bit laughed taking a sip of his beer, and turning back to the TV.

Most of the Greasers were hanging out at the Curtis' house today. They normally did, but today almost everyone was there at the same time which wasn't unusual, just really crowded.

"So Dal, anything super happen in that little world of yours?" Steve joked. I glanced over at Steve with a smirk. "Ask me that again and I'll send you to your _own _little world pal." I responded in a threatening, but in a "I'm kind of joking..." sort of way. So Steve turned around and continued playing cards with Soda.

Johnny and Ponyboy were out looking at the sunset again. _"That damn sunset...jesus."_ I thought looking over at the two on the porch_. "What could be so interesting about the sun going down?"_ I could barely look at a sunset now. What good was it to look at one? There had been a hole in my heart since I lost Willow. It had been nine years, and still that hole never closed. No matter how many broads I was with, or how many friends I had, or how many Soc's I've taken. The hole just remains.

Now, I was one of the most feared Greasers in Tulsa. I have one of the biggest reps, and a police record a mile long. I do what I wanna do, when I wanna do it. Whoever has a problem with that, would never dare speak up, unless they were one of those dumbass Soc's asking for a piece of my mind.

Nothing's the same anymore. After Willow was taken, we figured there was no use in hiding from their old drug dealer anymore. The deed was done, and he took what he wanted. So we moved back to Tulsa, knowing we'd never see Willow again. We tried hiring people to find her for the first year, but no such luck. So my goddamn parents, finally gave up looking and now they just sat around the house not caring about anything one way or the other. I had doubts that I'd ever see my little sister again. But I still did a double take everytime I saw a girl who would look like her. But it's useless, it was never her. It would _never_ be her.

"You goin' home tonight Dal?" Darry asked, from his chair where he was reading the paper.

"I dunno. If I get really drunk probably." I said simply, trying to edge away from my thoughts.

"You goin' to the football game tonight at the high school?" Two-Bit asked, with his eyes glued to Mickey on the TV.

"Probably...why's all the focus on me all of a sudden huh?" I asked, slightly irritated at the fact that everyone kept asking me questions. Everyone sort of shrugged and went back to whatever it was they were doing. Darry however, got up from his chair and sat next to me on the couch. "We worry is all, Dal." He said with a concerned tone.

"Darry, you know you ain't gotta worry about me man. I'm 110 percent. Worryin' about me is just a waste of your time." I laughed, grabbing my beer from the table and chugging the rest down.

"Whatever you say Dal..." Darry said with a slight laugh, and he went to go look over some bills.

"Say Dal, you wanna start headin' over to the game? Mickey's over." Two-Bit said with his mouth full of chocolate cake.

"Yeah man, let's blow this joint, I'm feelin' a bit too legal." I laughed. Two-Bit got up from the floor and swayed a little because of the alcohol he already had in his system. The rest of the gang was probably going to head to the game a little later. I however, wasn't planning on sitting in the stands like a good little boy cheering on some losers, so I planned to get a lot of booze before we got there. "See y'all later." Two-Bit called over his shoulder while we walked out into the golden sunset outside.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Willow's POV

"Sure is pretty isn't it?" I said with a sigh, sitting on my window seat. "What is? The sunset?" Cherry, my older sister asked, brushing my hair.

A lot had happened since the day I was taken from my old home. Jeffrey and I, whom I now called dad, came back to Tulsa and started a family. He got married to a nice lady named Jenna. Along with her came Cherry. Her real name was Sherry, but everyone called her Cherry because of her hair. Cherry's the same age as me; sixteen. But she's older by a few months.

Her dad left Jenna when she was seven, the same time when I was abducted by Jeffrey. They met, and everything clicked. Cherry and I really looked like sisters, because of our red hair, and we were a bit similar in looks. Except, I was a bit paler than she was, and my eyes were a bright, deep green. We lived on the South side of town. The nicer part of town. Us Soc's wouldn't be caught dead living on the same side of town the Greasers did.

After the past nine years, I really had grown to love Jeffrey as a father. He started to act like a father to me immediately when we got to Tulsa. It felt nice being a Soc. I was rich, and we Soc's owned the city. Compared to the Greasers, we were Gods. Cherry and I were really close, and in the same grade in school. We practically had all the same classes and we were both Cheerleaders. Both of us were dating awesome guys. She was dating a guy named Bob, and I was dating his best friend Randy. Randy is the sweetest thing ever. I love him to death.

Also, after we moved to Tulsa and dad married Jenna we took up her former name of Valance. Just so my former family couldn't find us. Yep, life was good.

"Yeah, the sunset...it's beautiful isn't it?" I asked Cherry as she continued to brush my hair. We were both getting ready for the football game tonight where we were cheering at.

"It's pretty nice." She agreed with a smile. "I love Randy." I sighed, falling back onto a pillow on my window seat.

"Now you've gone and messed up your pretty hair." Cherry scolded, teasingly, and pushed me back up and brushed it out. Now my hair was down to my rib cage instead of my waist when I was younger, but it was the same as it had always been, straight and red. "Cherry, you know my hair doesn't mess up easily." I laughed. "I know, I know." She replied rolling her eyes.

We were both dressed and ready to go by the time the door bell rang. We were both in our cheerleading uniforms, which were a red and white top, and a blue skirt. We both had our hair up into pony tails, so my hair hung to my mid back instead of my rib cage. We both grinned to each other as we opened the door. There was Bob and Randy standing on the other side. Boy did they sure look handsome. Randy was wearing a blue button up shirt and tan pants, and Bob was wearing a white button up shirt with tan pants. "Ready to go, and do some cheering ladies?" Bob asked, holding his arm out for Cherry to take. "Certainly." She said giving him a kiss on the cheek, and walking out the door.

"And you?" Randy asked, offering me his arm. "You bet." I said, and followed him out the door to Bob's mustang.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Sorry this chapter was boring, but I had to kind of update on how each of the characters lives were going. So sorry if it was boring or sloppy lol. I tried my best to describe how their lives were going. Oh, and if you notice, the chapter of the story "A Sunset Like No Other" there _was_ actually a point to that lol. The sunset was like no other because he and Willow were looking at the very same sunset. Don't know if it was hard to catch that. But anyways, please review and tell me what you think! Thanks! xoxo**

**-Casey.**


	3. Suspicious

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders, S.E Hinton does, I do however, own Willow and the characters you don't see in the movie or the book. **

_**Reviewers: **_

_Dark-Celeste__ - Ahh, I hate Randy too lol. But hey she's like "Super-soc, so of course she's dating, another super-soc lol. but it all soon be better. Thanks for reviewing!_

_iheartponyboy33__ - Yep, and we all know Willow's all corrupted and everything lol. And Dally's being...Dally...lol. Well hope you enjoy this next chapter! Thanks for the review!_

_Blondie 24-7__ - Yeah, I thought it'd be a bit of a twist. Can't wait to write the chapter when they do meet lol. Thanks for the review!_

blame it on the government - You pointed out some good things in your review that I sadly forgot about. But it was really helpful. It helped me remember a few things. I can tell you're a big fan, or have a wicked memory. :P But nonetheless, thanks for the review!

_Rugrats101_ - Updating now. Thanks for reviewing!

_Thanks for the reviews guys!_

_**Oh, and AUTHOR NOTE: **_

**Just letting everyone know, I'm going to probably be kind of steering away from facts in the book. Just some of the things may be different, and may not be how they happened in the book. So if things seem different, they're that way for a reason. But also, if anyone spots something majorly weird, feel free to point it out to me:)**

**And also, as you guys will notice, especially in this chapter, Dally will seem _really_ out of character, and it will sometimes be that way the rest of the story, and the others may be that way too sometimes. And of course, I did this for a reason lol. Cuz of course, the story wouldn't work if Dally was always his 'tough guy' self lol. So I hope you guys will be ok with these changes, cuz some do have to be made in order for this to work. So if you notice a character being out of character, there are reasons. :)**

_-xoxo - Casey._

**Chapter 3. "Suspicious"**

Dally's POV

"Man there's enough booze here to last us the whole game." I laughed, walking down the street with Two-Bit, and Steve who caught up with us about 10 minutes after we left. "Shoot Dal, there's enough booze here to get us through the night!" Two-Bit responded, glancing over me with a smirk. We were all carrying a six pack of beer each as we walked to the game.

"So where's the brothers three huh?" I asked, shifting the beer to my other hand. "They're a bit behind us. Darry said Pony had some homework to finish up." Steve replied, kicking an empty can in front of him. "Homework? On a school night? Christ, that doesn't make any sense to me." I said, shaking my head. I was serious, it was a school night, why the hell would you do school work on a school night...didn't you already have enough school during the day? _Sheesh._

"I dunno Dal, maybe if you wasn't working on gettin' expelled all the time, you'd know." Two-Bit joked.

_"Ha ha." _I spoke, dryly. "But damn straight. Them teachers don't know shit about nothin." I said. Teachers were always getting on my last nerve. _Dallas, don't do this. Dallas, don't do that. Dallas, leave that poor kid alone! Dallas, set an example! Dallas, you have detention for a whole month. _I swear, teachers are like broken records. They're there to annoy you to no end.

"Well, they must know somethin' seein' as how they're there to um, make you learn...shit, I don't know what I'm sayin.'" Two-Bit said. You could tell the alcohol was already starting to get to him pretty good. His mind could hardly stay on the topic.

Soon the school came into view and it was a relief. I was sick of lugging the beer down the road. We went under the fence near the back of the bleachers like we always did. "So, top?" Steve asked, pointing to the top of the bleachers. "Don't know where else you were thinkin'." I responded, making my way to the bleachers. They followed, and we went to the very top and sat down. After about ten minutes, Soda, Darry, Johnny and Ponyboy came up and we waited for the game to start.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Willow's POV

Once Cherry and I were done in the dressing rooms doing our team cheer, we walked outside and joined Bob and Randy who were waiting for us. Cherry and Bob walked a little ahead, while Randy and I stayed a bit further behind. "Have a good game, baby." Randy said to me, as we shared a long, passionate kiss. "Well, I'm sure that'll help." I smiled, and kissed him again. As we pulled apart, I waved my pom pom in his face teasingly, and we ran to catch up with Cherry and Bob. "Well, what naughty things were going on back there I wonder?" Cherry teased. I narrowed my eyes and laughed, "Wouldn't you like to know?" I smiled. When we approached the field, we separated from the boys, and joined our squad on the field.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dally's POV

_"Oh great."_ I heard Ponyboy say next to me. "What's wrong with you?" I asked, lighting a match on the rail behind me, to light my cigarette.

"Look who's here." He said, pointing a couple of rows below us. My eyes trailed over to where he was pointing and saw the two scum Soc's Bob and Randy who were looking dead at us, and giving us the Soc'iest looks possible.

"Well, if there's a bon fire we'll know who to throw in first now won't we?" I replied, lighting my cigarette and shaking out the match.

"I guess so." Ponyboy responded, moving a little closer to Soda.

Soon the game was finally starting, and my favorite part came out; _The cheerleaders._

As I scanned the lot of them, my eyes fell upon two red heads out on the field standing next to each other. I couldn't make them out really well because of the distance. But I think I found my targets for the night.

"Hey, check out the red heads." I said, nudging Two-Bit. He looked up from his beer and took a look. "Can't see 'em all that well." He said, squinting.

"Whaddya say you and I get a closer look?" I said, slyly. I stood up and Two-Bit followed suit. We made our way down the bleachers and up to the fence that seperated the field from the bleachers. "Still can't see very well, but I'll take the broad on the right." I said, indicating the girl with the shorter hair. Two-Bit was about to say something when we were interruped by a voice behind us. _"What do you think you're lookin' at Greasers?"_

I smirked when I heard the voice. It was the dumbass Soc's who Pony had been scared of earlier. I turned around and noticed Two-Bit was already facing them. "Well, it seems I'm looking at two ugly ass mama boy Soc's, now doesn't it?" I said, crossing my arms and leaning against the fence.

"_Very funny, Greaser."_ Randy spoke, dryly. Bob looked like he was reaching for something in his pocket. "Oh no, what's the big bad Soc gonna do to me now?" I said, pretending to look scared. "Oh no, is he gonna beat me to death with his wallet?" I laughed.

"No Dal, I think he wants to stop us from screamin' and take us out to his buddies...I think he'll start by gagging us with a 20!" Two-Bit and I started to laugh hysterically. Damn that alcohol, it was really making us look like morons.

"Well, aren't you two so sure of yourselves?" Another Soc spoke up from behind Bob and Randy. And behind him came a couple of more.

"It's certainly nice to know, when the cards are down, that you have to have twenty of you to take down two Greasers. It's pretty cute, actually." Two-Bit laughed.

_"BOB!" _Came a voice from behind me and Two-Bit. We both turned around to see one of the red heads coming towards us.

"Oh no, and a _girl_ too? I'm quivering in my boots Two-Bit, how about you?" I laughed. In response, he began laughing too. "Not just any girl Dal, a _cheerleader!" _He said between laughs.

Bob pushed past us and went up to the fence.

"Bob I swear, if you start a fight here, I will _never_ forgive you, do you hear me? My parents are here and if they see mine and Will's boyfriends starting a rumble at a football game, let's just say you _won't_ be seeing any more of us, understand?" She spoke, coldly.

"Cherry, we weren't fighting, we were just _talking_ weren't we Randy?" Bob asked Randy. "Cherry, I swear. Tell Will I'm not fighting. We were just coming to an understanding, that's all." Randy said, smirking at me and Two-Bit.

"Better be." Cherry responded giving us all a cold look and walking back to the other Cheerleaders.

"This isn't over, Greasers." Bob said with a grin, starting back up the bleachers. Randy gave us a triumphant smirk and followed behind him. Then the rest of them followed. "Well, that broad's got some authority doesn't she?" Two-Bit said with a laugh. I didn't respond. Something that the redhead had said struck me oddly. _"If they see mine and Will's boyfriend starting a rumble at a football game..." _

"Dal...?" Two-Bit asked, waving his hand in front of my face. "What?" I said suddenly, noticing he was talking. "You ok...?" He asked me. "Sure...look, I'm gonna head home...turn in early..." I said, walking away slowly leaving Two-Bit behind me. I didn't give it much thought but he was suspicious; no doubt about it. He knew something was wrong, no matter how drunk he was, he knew I _never_ go home early.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

As I made my way home from the football game, it started to rain. I didn't care. I continued walking, letting the cold rain beat down on me. It surprised me how much I was letting the name bother me. She didn't say Willow. I used to use the name Will, for Willow. But it really shouldn't be bothering me. There were dozens of Will's and Willow's in the world.

Before I knew it, I was standing at my front door. I really didn't want to go inside, but I didn't want to be outside either, so I opened the door and walked in. Mom was sitting in the living room drinking a beer and watching TV in the dark. _Like always. _I tried to slip past her without her noticing, I thought I succeeded but then I heard.

"Dallas, you're home early."

I stood at the foot of the stairs and replied, "Yeah."

There was a pause before she spoke again.

_"Why?"_

"I dunno." I replied and started to go up the stairs.

"_Dallas Winston, don't you walk away from your mother when she's speaking!" _I heard her say harshly. I stood frozen on the third stair and went back down. "What else is there to say?" I asked, standing at the foot of the stairs.

She was quiet for another minute. "Just go, Dallas... just..._go_." She said and fell silent. I let out a frustrated sigh and went up the stairs. I walked silently into my room and shut the door. As I closed it, I leaned against it. My face felt cold against the soft wood. All of a sudden, I had a burning sensation in the pit of my stomach, and with all my strength, I drew back my fist and aimed it at the wall. When the blow landed, the wall cracked and my fist went straight through. Well great, now I had a gaping hole in my wall. I could expect a slap in the face from my mom for that later, and a punch from my old man.

My breathing was heavy and I didn't feel any better. As soon as my breathing steadied a bit, I threw myself onto my bed and buried my face in my pillow. How come no matter what I do...it never felt better? After a while, you'd cope with the fact that your family will never be the same, and she's never coming back...but why isn't this a nightmare? Just some horrible nightmare? Even if it was one, would I ever wake up from it?

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Well, there's chapter 3, it probably was a bit angsty. But I tried lol. I hope you liked it. :) Please review.**

**-Casey.**


	4. The Movies

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders, S.E Hinton does. I however, own Willow and the other characters you don't see the book or the movie. **

_**Reviewers: **_

_iheartponyboy33__ - Yeah, Dally's really taking it hard. :( Thanks for the review!_

_Tiffany - Yay! I got a thumbs up! I'll be having them meet up very soon. Just gotta build up the suspense for you lovely people, and develop the characters and then we'll have ourselves a little ol' family reunion. :) Thanks for the review!_

_WhoaaReally53__ Yep, I thought it'd make a good plot, and a good twist at that. :) It is pretty sad because Dally fights so hard to beat the Soc's into the dirt and hates the very thought of them, yet little does he know, his own sister's a Soc lol. Thanks for reviewing!_

_blame it on the government__ - Haha, I loved reading your review lol. I love asking random questions. But yes, I do sometimes have the midnight munchies. I sometimes go and eat some fruit, or a little bowl of cereal or something lol. I also still do the same thing with other people's stories sometimes, when they don't update for months at a time, or abandon their story, I often write the endings in my head lol. But anyways, for the other thing, what are you sorry for? Lol. To my knowledge, you don't owe me an apology for anything lol. Thanks for the reviewing!_

_CrazyFoxDemon369 - Thanks! That makes me really happy! Thanks for the review:)_

_Thanks again for reviewing guys! You keep me motivated! _

_-xoxo Casey._

**Chapter 4. "The Movies"**

Willow's POV

After the game, Cherry and I went home, in anything but good spirits. As we rode in the back of the car, Cherry and I kept our mouths shut about the whole incident with the boys at the game. That's the _last_ thing they needed to hear about, mine and Cherry's boyfriends picking fights with Greasers, let alone talking to them. I swear, that's really the last thing I need.

"Willow, Cherry, is something wrong?" Mom asked, turning around a little bit to face us from the front seat.

"Oh, nothing mother. Just a bit tired from the game is all." Cherry said quickly, and then drifted back into silence.

"Willow, does the same go for you too?" She asked, eying me, as if to detect a lie.

"Yes." I replied, glancing over at her. She _always_ looked at me like that. It was as if she thought I was lying to her or something. It just always rubbed me the wrong way. It was as if she was waiting for me to snap back into old habits or something bad like that.

Once we arrived home, Cherry and I were still quiet as ever and quickly made our way up the stairs to our rooms. Cherry sighed deeply and walked into her room, shutting the door behind her. She rarely shut it, so she must be getting changed, I thought to myself as I went into my room and did the same. I found a night gown in one of my drawers, but as I pulled it out, something fell out from inside the folds.

I looked down and whatever it was, was lying face down on the floor. I slowly bent down and picked it up. It was a picture of my brother Dallas and I. The picture was taken in our front yard by my former mother. She was crazy about pictures and took dozens. This one was taken when Dallas and I were on our way home from school. He was carrying me on his back and my arms were slung across his shoulders. We both had very big smiles on our faces and looked like we were having a lot of fun.

"What's this doing here?" I asked myself, staring at it a minute. All of a sudden a knock sounded on my door. "Hey Will, you dressed yet?" I heard Cherry ask. "No, just a second!" I called out, throwing the picture back towards my drawer. I quickly changed out of my cheer outfit, and into my nightgown. I didn't want to leave Cherry waiting, so I went and opened the door. "Ok, now I'm dressed." I laughed, walking away from the door so she could follow me in.

"What a night!" She sighed, collapsing on my bed.

"Thank God it's Friday." I laughed in agreement, walking over to my dresser to brush my hair.

"Can you believe those boys?" Cherry asked.

I looked up at her in my mirror and gave her a look of, "_Boys, you can live with them, but you can't live without them."_ "Honestly, you'd think if they hated Greasers so much, they'd want nothing to do with them." I stated, turning back toward her and joining her on the bed.

"You've got that right." She agreed. We sat in silence for a minute, but then it was interrupted when Cherry turned her head toward my dresser and something caught her eye. "What's that?" She asked, sitting up. My eyes traveled toward the dresser and my gaze fell upon the picture on the floor. _It didn't go in the drawer? Jeez. _ I thought, wanting nothing more than to kick myself in the head for missing the drawer. _No sense hiding it from her, she saw it already._ I got up and picked the picture up from where it lie on the floor and brought it back over to the bed. I sat down and held the picture in between us so she could see.

"Old family?" She asked glancing up at me for a second, then returning to the picture. I nodded and sighed. "I seriously don't know what that was doing in my drawer. Dad took all my old pictures and put them in the basement somewhere." I explained.

"How'd you get the pictures? Didn't dad take you and go?" Cherry asked, puzzled.

"I grabbed one of my little photo albums on the way out." I said softly, replaying the night over in my head.

I guess she could tell that I was a bit deep in thought, so she got up slowly. "I think I'm going to turn in now. It's pretty late." She said.

She wasn't wrong, it was almost eleven. I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, me too."

She gave me a quick hug, then left the room shutting the door behind her.

I waited a minute and heard her door close. Once I knew she was gone for sure, I got up and walked over to my dresser. Again, I opened the drawer and brushed through some things. I slowly picked up a little grey box from the bottom of the drawer. I placed it on top of my dresser and opened it. Inside was my old locket. I slowly lifted it out and looked at it. I hadn't looked at it in years. It was slowly collecting dust, so I brushed some of it away with my finger tips. It had my name engraved in it on the front. I hesitated slightly, but then I opened it up and inside was a picture of Dally and I on one side, and a picture of my parents on the other.

I was lucky at the time when dad took me away from them. I always wore that locket, but I hid it when we moved back to Tulsa so he wouldn't take it away like he did my pictures.

I stared sadly at the photo of my brother and I. "Dally." I said, softly...feeling my heart sink into my stomach a little. _What the hell am I doing? I have a new life now, and Dallas is not part of it! He's gone for good, and I'll never see him again, so stop dwelling on the past!_ I told myself, angrily. I took the picture and locket and shoved them far into the drawer, slamming it shut.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dally's POV

"Dal, come on wake up!" I heard a voice say to me. _Shut up... _was all I could think. I placed each side of my pillow to my head to make the voice shut up. Then I heard, "Dally, get the hell up!" Then I felt myself getting shaken, and it wouldn't stop. "WHAT THE HELL!" I shouted, sitting up angrily. My eyes fell right into Two-Bit's gaze. The thing that struck me oddly was his eyes were full of concern.

"Y'all right Dal?" He asked. I licked my lips and looked down for a second. Then I looked back up at him with a sarcastic smirk. "What do _you_ think huh? You came into my room and woke me up at..." I paused and looked at the clock. "Six in the morning, and you're asking _me_ what'swrong?" I asked with a scoff. Two-Bit looked at me strangely. "Um...Dal?" He said suddenly, making me stop my grumbling at him.

"What?" I asked giving him a sarcastic look of attention. "It's six _PM_." He said giving me a look of concern. "Six..._when_?" I asked, blinking a few times. "It's six at night Dal, if your window wasn't covered with a huge blanket, maybe you'd know." He said trying to joke.

"I don't like the sun waking me up." I said, lying back down. I stared at the ceiling a minute and then I looked back over at Two-Bit who was giving me that look again. I sat up, frustrated. "Why do you keep looking at me that way huh?" I asked sharply. Two-Bit looked a bit startled. "Like..._what_ Dal...?" He asked, confused.

"The way you look right now! It's like you're looking at me as if...I got stabbed or something like that." I said, exasperated.

"You're acting kinda funny Dal...I can't quite put my finger on it...but last night...you started acting strangely after the Soc's left." Two-Bit said, playing with his switch blade.

"What do ya mean strange?" I asked, a little bit defensive.

"I don't mean nothin' by it Dal, it's just an observation." Two-Bit responded in his defense.

"I'm sure." I sneered, lying against the wall.

"Really Dally, I'm concerned." He said, looking back down at his switch blade.

That statement made me laugh. Two-Bit being serious about something in itself was a joke. It took me a minute to stop laughing, but Two-Bit looked at me like I was an alien or something.

"Dal...I'm serious..." He stated, but then broke into a few laughs because it even sounded funny to him. But then he cleared his throat. "No really Dal, I'm concerned." He said with the utmost sincerity.

"About _what_ exactly?" I asked, placing a cigarette in my mouth, and then started to look around for a lighter. Two-Bit handed me one.

"Well, I know for a certain fact that you don't go home _early_ if at all, _ever_...and then you started to look like you had seen a ghost once the Soc's started to clear out. And you slept like 22 hours. That ain't normal Dal..." Two-Bit explained.

I took a puff of my cigarette, and stared at the foot of the bed waiting for an answer to pop into my head. "How do you know I slept for 22 hours huh?" I laughed, taking another puff.

"You had to have slept most of that time because we've been checkin' on you all day...Dal, we can save all this just by telling me if something's wrong." Two-Bit said.

"Wrong? Nothin' -- nothin's wrong Two-Bit. You're wasting your time worrying." I laughed, finishing the cigarette.

Two-Bit sighed, defeated and headed off towards the door. He opened it, but then stopped right when he was about to close the door and said something over his shoulder. "Dal, this wouldn't happen to be about _Willow_ would it?" He asked.

My heart jumped into my throat. I let out a few stutters, like "I---you---_how?_" But then I cleared my throat. "Um, W--Willow, Willow who?" I asked, trying to cover up.

"It was a name you said in your sleep, Dal. You kept repeating it with things like, _don't go _or _I'll protect you_ and pretty often, _don't leave me_." He gave me a look, expecting an answer.

"I--I don't know...I don't remember anything that I was dreamin'." I shrugged.

"Ok Dal, I'll talk to you later." He said in a dissappointed tone.

I stared down at my blankets and felt a little bad for lying to Two-Bit, but I couldn't explain Willow to anyone. No one knew about her, and she was too painful of a subject for me to talk about. And I didn't want anyone knowing that.

_In my dream, I was sitting at the foot of Willow's bed watching her play with her dolls, when a shadow burst in the door. I threw myself in front of her and said, "Willow I'll protect you." She looked up at me, smiled, and put her dolls down. Then she stood up and walked toward the shadow who held a hand out to her. She slowly approached him and took his hand. I tried crying out to her, "Willow don't go!" But she didn't stop. He led her off into the doorway. She turned around and gave me a look of sympathy and disappeared through the door. I was left sitting on her bed alone. I picked up one of her dolls, hugged it to my chest and said, "Willow...don't leave me..." _

That was all I could remember. From then on all I could remember was being woken up by Two-Bit. I got up and threw on some clothes so I could go out and find some of the guys. I walked down the stairs and looked into the living room, not surprised to find my mom staring at the TV. I quickly walked out of the house, successfully avoiding conversation. The warm air greeted me as I stepped out of the house. I inhaled deeply, and started walking down the street. It didn't take me too long to find Two-Bit because he was sitting at the street corner, smoking a cigarette.

"Wanna do somethin'?" I asked him.

He looked up at me curiously, "What do you wanna do?" He asked.

"Well, I was thinkin' we could go see a movie at the drive-in." I suggested.

"Sounds cool...nice night for it anyway." He agreed.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Willow's POV

"Sure, I'd love to go! It's such a nice night out." I said to Cherry standing in the doorway. Cherry had just asked if Randy and I wanted to go to the drive-in with her and Bob. "How about you?" I asked skipping over to Randy, sitting down on the bed, and taking him by the hands.

"If it's something you want to do, then of course princess." He smiled. I suddenly let go of his hands and stared at the floor. _Princess...what dad used to always call me_.

"Will, is something wrong?" Randy asked, grabbing my hand.

"No," I laughed, showing him a smile. "I'm just a little jumpy today, that's all." I said, walking over to my coat rack to get my purse.

"Will, if you're not feeling well, you don't have to go." Cherry said, concerned.

"Cherry, I'm _fine._" I said, giving her a smile. I grabbed Randy by the hand, pulling him behind me, and we followed Cherry and Bob out to the car.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We arrived at the drive-in and Bob parked the car. "We should go sit outside, it's such a nice night for it." Cherry suggested, motioning towards the seats in front of the screen. "Are you sure?" Bob asked. Cherry nodded and looked at Randy and I in the back seat. I nodded, and we got out of the car and made our way to the seats. We sat down and started to enjoy the movie until we heard unsatisfied yells from people. We ignored them. Two guys were laughing and sat behind us, which we also chose to ignore.

After a few minutes we heard a voice say, _"Well, well, well, what have we got here Two-Bit? The two red heads from the other night. Oh, and their knights in shining armor." _

Randy and Bob turned around angrily. "Shut up." Bob said thickly.

_"Two-Bit...hold me...the mean ol' Soc told me to shut up..."_

"If you don't shut up now, we'll make sure it's the last thing you ever do." Randy warned.

"Randy..." I muttered. I didn't want him getting involved. It was obviously Greasers who were starting the trouble.

_"Give me 5 minutes alone with your broad and we might. Ain't that right, Dal?" _I heard another voice say. Enough was enough.

"Why don't you two shut the---" I stopped in mid sentence. Before my eyes was a greaser who had greased, dark brown hair with eyes that matched. He was wearing a black leather jacket, a dark blue shirt, and dark blue jeans. But the thing that caught my eye was a necklace that hung from his neck. _Dally had a necklace that looked like that._ He was looking at me the same way I looked at him. But the look he gave me was so familiar...there was no way...but there was almost no doubt...

"Dallas?" I asked softly. The last thing I saw was the Greaser's eyes widen in shock before I passed out.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

**We had ourselves a little family reunion didn't we? Lol. Yep, I left you at an evil cliffy. :) Well, they finally came face to face lol. Was it unexpected? lol. Please review and tell me what you think! Plus, you have to give me some motivation to get you out of this awful cliffy lol. :P**

**-Casey**


	5. Lies

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders, S.E Hinton does. I however, own Willow and any characters you don't see in the movie or the book. **

**AUTHOR NOTE: PLEASE READ.**

**Just as a reminder to everyone, I am using MOVIE descriptions. Not the book descriptions. I've had 2 or 3 people argue with the description I gave Dallas in the previous chapter. I posted an author note back on the very first chapter saying that movie descriptions were going to be used. So just as a reminder again, I'm using movie descriptions and not book descriptions. For 3 reasons,**

1. I don't have the book at hand right now, and so I'm not going to remember the exact detail, but I DO own both editions normal and special edition of the Outsiders DVD and know those descriptions like the back of my hand.

2. As much as I liked S.E Hinton's descriptions in the book, I prefer the movie descriptions better. Not trying to go against what she wrote, and hey, she approved of the boys in the movie in the first place lol.

3. I just want to...I created this in the way I wanted written, and I'm trying to be open to everything people are telling me; but there ARE reasons for everything I write and do. And I can only hope people will like it, and I know most of you do, and I thank you so much! I'm trying my best to make it enjoyable to each and every one of you, and I hope I'm doing enough to make it so.

_-----Ok, I'm hoping we have all that settled, and we're on the right page. It's time for my reviewers spotlight, because I love you guys!_

_ivy45663__ - Yes, it was very mean of me to leave it there I agree lol. But it's like a trademark of mine. I'm known for doing it lol. But don't worry, I'll try not to do it too often lol. ;) Thanks for the review!_

_Blondie 24-7__ - Yep, the tension's thick, I guess that means that I wrote it right lol. I tried to have a lot of tension. Thanks for the review!_

_JoHnNy CaStLe__ - I HATE them too, but I'm notorious for cliffys lol. I'm going to refrain from doing them often, but I swear, from the very beginning I had planned on the chapter where they met to be left off with an evil cliffy:) But now, no more cliffy lol. Thanks for reviewing!_

_American-Soldier-Kyo-Curtis__ - I'm terrible, I know. Lol. But Cliffy's are my middle name. :) You got hooked? That's really good to hear. It makes me feel like I'm writing a good story. Thanks for reviewing!_

_Dark-Celeste__ - Fear not, your troubles are now over, for here comes chapter 5! Lol I'm a loser, I know. Thanks for the review!_

_blame it on the government__ - Every Villain is lemons hmm? Lol. I wasn't trying to imply that putting blankets over windows was bad. On the contrary, that part of the story was based on me personally. I have a HUGE blanket covering my window in my bedroom so sunlight won't get in. I like my room dark. Especially when I'm writing. So I wasn't trying to imply that it was bad at all. Oh, and as I posted earlier, I'm going by the movie's descriptions for the reasons listed, but thanks for letting me know. :) It's a good thing to know you have your Outsiders facts down. :) Thanks for the review._

_Soda's-Girl__ - Lol, Willow and Dally will be having a bit of a meeting in this chapter don't you worry. Lol, thanks for reviewing!_

_Rugrats101__ - Me being the notorious cliffhanger extraordinaire, I simply couldn't let that chapter go without a cliffy lol. But here's the new chapter! Lol, thanks for reviewing!_

_iheartponyboy33__ - I am quite the evil bitch when it comes to cliffys lol. But don't you worry, here's an update! Lol, thanks for reviewing!_

_NewGirlOnTheBlock__ - No worries, here's the new chapter! Thanks for the review!_

_Tiffany - Aw, I'm loved! And I got a million thumbs up? Does happy dance Lol, I don't have any idea what that dance would look like. OO And we'll definitely see how Dally's gonna take the news in the next few chapters and stuff lol. Thanks for reviewing!_

-----**I was amazed at all the new reviews. I was expecting to see the usual and stuff, but I was so surprised to see so many when I checked the next day. You are all amazing, I swear, this story wouldn't be anywhere without you. Thanks guys!**

**-Casey**

**Chapter 5. **

Willow's POV

I heard voices, but they were distant. I wanted to open my eyes, but another part of me forced them to stay shut. _Had it all been a dream? Some amazing, horrible dream? _I asked myself. It didn't seem real. Vague memories were coming back to me at a mile a minute. _Not now, I don't need this now._ I said to myself. _This just couldn't be real. I refuse to believe it's real...it never happened...it never---_

"Will? Will---are you awake?" Came a worried voice, interrupting my vows of denial.

I slowly opened my eyes. I realized I was lying in a hospital bed, I had a few tubes coming out of my arm, I could feel my head was bandaged. Outside the sun was setting and there was an orangish, pinkish glow in the sky.

I looked over and saw my mother, Cherry, Bob, and Randy.

"Willow! Thank goodness. I swore to myself, if you hadn't woken up by tonight...I don't know what I'd do." My mother said, taking hold of my hand.

I caught a glimpse of the other three who looked down at me worried, but in their eyes it seemed like they wanted an explanation for what happened.

"Honey, I couldn't believe it when Cherry called me and said you'd been knocked out by one of those awful hoodlums." Mom stated, shaking her curly red hair off her shoulders. She looked pretty well rested, the others however, looked less than rested.

"Knocked out by a...what?" I asked, puzzled. But then Cherry gave me a look. It was obvious my mother didn't know what _really _happened. Or she was told an edited version.

"Oh--oh yeah, it was dreadful." I responded, trying my best to sound convincing, but I was really out of it.

"How's she doing?" Came a voice from the doorway. I looked past my mother and saw my dad standing in the doorway.

"Hey dad." I said reaching out for his hand. He sat down in a chair beside my bed, and took my outstretched hand in his.

"Sweetheart, I was so worried." He said, brushing a strand of hair away from my eyes with his free hand.

He looked the part. His clothes didn't look as together as usual. His hair was a bit out of place, and he had some light bags under his eyes. I could tell he didn't get enough rest.

"You look worse for wear dad, you didn't rest well?" I asked, looking at him concerned.

"Of course not! One of my most precious things in the world was in the hospital. There's no way I could have slept peacefully knowing that." He said sadly.

It was sweet knowing he cared so much. I gripped his hand tighter. "I'm fine." I assured him. He smiled and gave me a kiss on the forehead. "Are you hungry or anything?" He asked me. I nodded in reply.

"Alright, your mom and I will go and get something to eat for you." He said giving me hand a squeeze. He turned to leave and mom followed, closing the door behind her.

"You alright Will?" Cherry asked, sitting down in mom's abandoned chair. I nodded again. Randy sat in my dad's empty chair and grabbed my hand. He gently brought it up to his lips and kissed it softly.

"So, you wanna shed some light on what happened?" Bob asked suddenly.

"What?" I asked confused.

"You know what." He said smugly. Cherry cast him an angry look. "Bob! What's gotten into you? She just woke up!" Cherry said sternly, turning back to me.

Bob scoffed and jammed his hands into his pockets.

I looked around at all their faces. They all demanded an explanation. An explanation that I wasn't ready to give. And I wasn't sure I was ever going to be ready to give it.

"It was nothing..." I said. I was such a bad liar. Everyone could tell.

"You passing out at the drive-in, that wasn't nothing." Randy insisted.

I opened my mouth to say something, but I didn't know what to say, so I closed my mouth. Randy then looked at me and he grabbed my chin so I was making eye contact with him. "Did that greaser..._mean _something to you? Did he ever hurt you?" He asked.

"Mean something?" I asked.

"Did you two...date?" He asked tensely.

I couldn't help myself, I burst into a fit of laughter. This may not have been the time for it, but that had to have been the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. Everyone looked alarmed by my sudden burst of hysteria.

"Will?" Randy asked, trying to get me to stop laughing. But I didn't. It went on for another minute before my laughter slowly ceased.

"What was that about?" Cherry asked uneasily.

"The thought of him and I _dating_." I said, letting out a few more laughs.

"Ok Will, if that's not the case, then what's the connection between you and the Greaser?" Randy asked, frustrated.

I sighed. I still didn't want to tell them. It was too hard.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dally's POV

It had been a few days after what happened at the movies, but Two-Bit still talked about it because I wouldn't.

"Well, that was extremely weird." Two-Bit said lighting up a cigarette.

"What? Oh---oh yeah...weird." I agreed.

"Wonder what was up with that Soc broad. She just looked at you...passed out...and hit her head on the way down..." Two-Bit laughed.

"Yeah." I said, and puffed on my cigarette.

"Dal, is there some kind of connection between you and the Soc?" Two-Bit asked, curiously.

"No, why do you ask?" I lied flatly.

"Well she obviously knew you...and you looked surprised to see her." He said staring at me.

"She's just someone I used to know..." I said, lighting up another cigarette. "_Used to know..."_

----------------------------------------------------------------

A bit later Two-Bit and I decided to walk to the Curtis house since we had nothing better to do. Not much was going on, the guys were sitting around playing poker. Two-Bit and I walked in and collapsed on the couch. Two-Bit got caught up on Mickey on TV I however, found absolutely nothing to do, so I decided to split.

"Catch ya guys later." I said, walking out the door. I lit up a cigarette and began to walk with no destination on my mind. I really didn't want to be around people right now. _Was that really her? _I asked myself. There was no way it couldn't be...how could it be? Her and that guy should be in Switzerland or England or something. But _Tulsa? _Of all places...my parents couldn't know she was here. And I probably had to ignore it too. She wasn't the person I used to know. She was a Soc.

I walked a good mile or so before I heard a car following not far behind me. I didn't turn around, I didn't care that I was being followed, and I didn't want to give them the satisfaction that I cared. I heard it stop, but I kept walking. "Hey, Greaser." I heard behind me, followed by a car door slamming. _God damn Soc's. Never knew when to quit._

I turned around angrily. "What the hell? You want a rumble or somethin'? I'll give you one if you so desperately require one!" I shouted.

The Soc's were the same Soc's that were with Willow at the movies. They even had the other girl with them. She was the one who approached me first.

"We--we didn't come to fight..." She said stopping a few feet away from me. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms impatiently. "Then what the hell do you want?" I asked.

"My sister won't tell me why she passed out when she saw you, and we're concerned..." She was about to go on but I interrupted by saying, "Your sister huh?"

"Yeah, my sister. She just won't tell me. I mean, is there something wrong between you two? How does she even know you?" She asked me.

"You know what? I don't know. She's your sister, your problem all right? Not mine, not my problem." I stated, turning around and beginning to walk away, but I felt myself grabbed and pushed to the ground and a knife held at my throat by Randy. "Listen, whatever you did to my girlfriend _is _your problem, and if you don't tell me now I'll--"

"_He's my brother..."_

Everyone stopped whatever is was they were doing and stared over at where the voice came from. Willow was standing there next to the car.

The girl ran over to the car and said, "Will, I told you, you didn't have to leave the car...your head still hurts, you should be taking it easy..."

But Randy wasn't as concerned about that as the other thing. "He's your..._what?"_

"M-my brother..." She repeated, staring at the ground.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Oh dang, trouble ahead lol. Sorry if this chapter was boring, I didn't mean for it to be. But here's the reaction with more on the way. Chapter 6 is in progress. Hope you like it, please review!**

**-Casey**


	6. Because of You

**Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own The Outsiders, S.E Hinton does. I however, own Willow and the characters you don't see in the book or movie.**

**----Sorry I haven't updated, I've been with my friend watching her grandmother's house while she was on vacation. I was there Monday - Saturday and I really didn't get a chance to get on the computer and update. We had a laptop up there, but it was annoying trying to write, I wrote the first few paragraphs while I was there but then I decided I'd finish when I got home. Now I'm home and updating. Sorry for the long wait. :( I'll try and make it a good chapter. **

**REVIEWERS!**

_Dark-Celeste - Yep, the truth is definitely out lol. Thanks for reviewing! _

_American-Soldier-Kyo-Curtis - Aww, I didn't mean for it to really be a cliffhanger, sorry. VV Lol, but this chapter will save you from the evil cliffy. :) Thanks for the review!_

_blame it on the government - Aww thanks. You were joking kind of? Thanks for reviewing!_

_iheartponyboy33 - Lol, no worries, thanks for the review!_

_CrazyFoxDemon369 - Thanks, I tried hard on the chapter! Thanks for reviewing!_

_WhoaaReally53 - Oh my gosh! How awful! Is your sister all right? I do hope so! I'm so sorry, I hope she's OK! Thanks for the review, and I hope she feels better and it's not cancer. :( I'm hoping for the best!_

_Tiffany - lol yeah the Soc's need to get lost. Willow will soon realize where she really belongs lol. Thanks for reviewing!_

_Rugrats101 - Updating now! Lol, thanks for the review!_

_JessH89 - Lol, updating now, thanks for reviewing!_

_Blondie 24-7 - lol, I know how that is. I'm crazy when I don't get a lot of sleep lol. Thanks for reviewing!_

**--I think that was everyone, thanks for the review guys, they made me very motivated and made me smile:)**

**xoxo - Casey**

**Chapter 6.**

Willow's POV

"What do you mean _brother? _You don't have a brother, Willow." Randy stated, throwing a cold glance at Dally. I stared at the ground not wanting to answer. He wouldn't understand what happened. Randy would never _want_ to understand.

"It's a long story Randy, you wouldn't understand...it was a long time ago." I insisted, hoping he would drop it and we could just go. But I wasn't so lucky.

"I wouldn't understand? Will, we've been together for a year and a half, we should be able to tell each other _everything_!" Randy insisted harshly.

I didn't like where this was going. He really wouldn't understand, and was I just supposed to come out and tell the whole world that I came from a family of Greasers? Maybe if I had a death wish that would work, but the truth of the matter was, I didn't.

"Randy please, can we talk about this somewhere else?" I pleaded. He didn't answer; He just stared at me with cold in his eyes. It hurt to see him look at me that way. "Please..." I repeated, hoping this time it would take effect. But he still didn't say anything.

"C'mon man, let's just go." Bob said, pulling Randy up by his arm. Randy was still silent. Dally lay on the ground not saying anything. "Cherry, get in the back." Randy commanded Cherry. Cherry normally sat in the front with Bob, but now he was telling Cherry to sit in the back so he wouldn't be near me. "Ok..." She responded quietly. I did my best to hold back tears.

Cherry got in the back and I was starting to, but I took another look back at Dally. I didn't want to stop looking at him. So many years had past, and all I wanted to do was talk to him, but deep down, I knew I couldn't. He stared back at me, it seemed like he was in shock, and I wouldn't blame him; so was I. I looked back at him one last time, and got in the car.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dally's POV

I watched the blue mustang drive away quickly. It was official, it _was_ Willow. But why is she here? And the biggest thing that I loathed, was she was a Soc..and dating...ugh...Randy. They really messed her up. But what was I to do? She had a new life, and a new family, so the best I could do now was try and forget her. I should've done it long ago.

I slowly picked myself up off the ground and started to walk in the direction of home. I still couldn't get her off my mind. Seeing her made me happier than I'd been in 7 years. She really had grown up, but I guess it wasn't for the better. I wondered what she'd look like as a Greaser, but I should stop trying to wonder things like that because it won't happen. Once you're a Soc, you never come back.

And there I was, standing outside my house again. I hated this place more than I could say, but I wanted to be alone, so I went inside. To my surprise, my mother wasn't sitting in front of the TV. I heard some sobbing from the kitchen, so I snuck down the hallway and saw that the kitchen door was open a crack. I looked in and saw my mom sitting at the table holding a picture and crying. My dad suddenly came into view holding a cup of coffee and joining my mom at the table.

"Why did we screw up Ryan? Were drugs _really _worth it?" My mom cried into his shoulder.

He sat there and held her. "No, they weren't, but how were we to know that he'd do this? It's been 7 years Natalie we probably should get on with our lives." My dad spoke sadly.

"I can never move on Ryan. Willow, our Willow's gone forever. We'll never see her again and it's all our faults."

"I'll never be able to move on either Natalie...but can we just _stop _living?" He inquired.

"I can..." She said quietly. "I didn't just lose Willow, I lost Dallas too." That last part put a jolt in my heart and I listened harder now.

"Lost Dallas?" My dad asked.

"Ryan, Willow was taken from us...but we lost Dallas soon after. He grew cold...and turned away from us..." She said shakily.

"I understand, but there's nothing we can do..." He replied.

"Perhaps not...but maybe the best thing for him would be to get out of here...maybe we could send him someplace..." She said.

"Where? Where would you propose to send him Natalie?"

"I don't know...foster care or something?"

I had heard enough, I burst through the door causing my parents to look up in alarm.

"Foster care huh? So that's how it goes mom? You finally realized that you can't hack it as a parent and decided to get rid of me? Well, you can go slit your wrists and die, because I ain't goin nowhere, got it?" I yelled at her.

"Dallas, I-I didn't mean it that way, I meant it more as a...benefit to you...I think being here is ruining your chance at living a normal happy life...that you don't have with us..." She said softly.

I scoffed and stared at her in disbelief. "So, you're throwin the towel in now huh? Waited until all the best years of my life were over and _then _you decide to send me away. I'll let you in on a little secret. "Willow's gone because of _you. _Your lives are over because of _you_. And the reason I 'supposedly' _can't live..._is because of _you._ And now you have the nerve to ruin my fucking life even more by sending me away...you two have to be the worst parents ever. You're shit." I said coldly, and ran out of the kitchen.

"DALLAS! DALLY!" My mom called after me, but I didn't listen, I kept running. I ran until I got to the first place I could think of; The Curtis house. I knocked softly on the door and waited for someone to open it. Ponyboy opened the door and when he noticed it was me he looked weirded out. "Since when do you knock?" He asked, opening the door for me. "I don't know...I'm messed up right now, I don't know what the hell I'm doing..." I muttered, walking past him into the house.

Darry got up from the couch and walked over to me. "Y'all right Dal?" He asked, concerned. "What's wrong?"

I looked up at him, it was nice to have someone who cared if you were Ok or not. "I'm not all right man..." I said dropping onto the couch.

"What's wrong?" He asked sitting next to me. "My son of a bitch mother was talkin' to my father about fucking sending me to a damn foster home!" I said angrily.

"A foster home? What for?" Ponyboy asked.

"I think they finally realized that they're fuckin' morons." I said bitterly.

"Dal, if you need a place to stay, you know you can stay here." Darry told me.

I smirked and looked at him. "Thanks Darry, you're a life saver. I didn't know where the hell I was gonna go tonight." I said patting him on the shoulder.

"It's nothin' Dal." He said with a reassuring smile.

A couple of hours later, Darry and Soda were asleep and only Ponyboy and I were in the living room, he was finishing up some homework. "You're lucky, you know that kid?" I said to Ponyboy who looked up from his work confused. "What Dal?" He asked.

"You're lucky, you know that?" I repeated.

He stared at me like I was speaking french or something. "Lucky how?" He asked.

"You got Darry. You got someone here who cares whether your dead or alive, someone who cares whether you go to school, that you succeed in life, hell that you're even home at night..._I have no one..."_ I muttered the last part to myself so Ponyboy couldn't have heard it.

Ponyboy closed his textbook and walked over to the couch. "Yeah, I guess I am. I know Darry and I don't get along well sometimes, but it is reassuring knowin that he cares." Ponyboy responded.

"Yeah." I replied taking a puff of my cigarette and sighing deeply. "Very lucky..."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Willow's POV

"So, this isn't your real family?" Randy asked in disbelief. Randy and I were in my room alone and I was trying my best to explain what happened.

"Nope." I responded trying to keep cool. This was hard to talk about, especially to Randy.

"So let me get this straight, you were taken from your family by your parent's dealer, which is your current father. And he took you as the payment of their debt...and then you came back to Tulsa and here you are...and you've recently run into...your brother..." Randy said trying to keep it all straight.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up." I replied.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked looking me in the eyes.

"Randy, I wanted to...really I did. But I put all that behind me, but I just ran into him and it changed everything...I wasn't just going to announce that this wasn't my real family...and jeopardize everything my father worked to put together." I said, taking his hand in my mine.

He stared at my hand over his for a minute but then he looked back up at me. "Will...I don't know if I can do this anymore...it's like I don't even know you...the real you..." He said pulling his hand away from mine.

I had to admit, I was a little shocked and hurt by what he said, but I was surprised it didn't hurt more. "I think I agree..." I said. I couldn't believe I was saying this but I guess I was speaking from the heart.

"Agree?" He asked confused.

"To be perfectly honest, I don't even know who I am anymore. Now that he's here everything's different. I don't know if it's good or bad, but I know it's not the same. Now I'm looking at myself and asking who I really am...do I belong here or there...and just a lot of things, and I'm all mixed up. I love you Randy...but maybe we need to take some time away from each other and let things fall into place, and go where they should." I explained. "But in the process, you'll remain a good friend to me, and I still love you."

He was silent a minute but in the end, he nodded. "Yeah, it's probably a good idea. I better get home, it's late." He stated. He got up from my bed and made his way over to the door. Before he left, he turned back around. "I love you Will, I just don't know if the person I love is real..." He said and shut the door behind him.

What he said confused me at first but then I understood. I didn't blame him for not being sure about loving me. If I learned this about him, I'd think the person I loved was a lie too. I laid down slowly, burying my head in my pillow and crying my heart out. I was lost and confused and didn't know who I was, or where I really belonged. But I knew I was going to find out soon enough.

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Alrighty! This chapter may have been a bit boring, but I had to kind of get the reactions out and stuff. Dally and Willow's parents played a bigger part in this chapter, although Dally sort of freaked out on them lol. But I bet a lot of people are jumping up and down at the fact that Willow broke up with Randy! lol. Well anyways, I sorry if it was boring, but I hope you liked it! Please review! **

**-Casey**


	7. The Dance

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders, I do however, own Willow and all the characters you don't see in the book or movie. **

**Author Note!**

**Hello everyone! How's everyone? Hope not like I am... school started! . No more summer Sniff But I promise that I'm not going to stop updating because of it. :) but yeah I've been kind of frustrated with a bunch of crap going on and this chapter was supposed to be written and done last Sunday, but now here it's Saturday. Sorry for the long wait. I was sitting in my Creative Writing class yesterday and I promised myself it'd be finished and posted TODAY. And now here it is, sorry it wasn't sooner. :(**

**xoxo - Casey**

_**Reviewers: **_

_WhoaaReally53__ - Yep, they finally broke up. Can I get an A-men! Amen! Lol. Dally's parents are unfortunately morons lol but hey, what can ya do:D And we'll have to see what Willow does next! I'm glad you like the story! Thanks for the review!_

_CrazyFoxDemon369__ - I didn't try to make you cry did I? Lol. I didn't really mean to...lol. Thanks for the review!_

_Rugrats101__ - Eh, Randy can be "decent" all he wants. He can "decent" his way to Canada, and I still won't like him much lol. Thanks for reviewing!_

_blame it on the government__ - Aww, I'm sorry you had a bad day at school. I had a rough week. Exhausting... :( Thanks for the review!_

_Tiffany - Yeah sorry, it was pretty dang slow. It'll get better I hope lol. Dally's as confused as Willow so he's doing his "tough guy" crap lol. I'd LOVE to meet Dally as a person, he'd be amazing. Thanks for reviewing!_

_iwalkinthelight14 - Thanks! And right back at ya:)_

**---Thanks for all the reviews:D**

**-Casey**

**Chapter 7. **

Willow's POV

The next thing I knew, it was morning. I didn't remember falling asleep... it had been quite a day I guess, so it made sense. I slowly got up from my bed and my head felt like it weighed a million pounds. I blinked a few times to make my vision clear and headed downstairs. The house was quieter than usual. I went into the kitchen and saw that no one was there. Where was everyone?

I filled myself up a cup of water and took a deep sip while sitting down at the kitchen table. I looked over at the clock it read, 12:14 PM. Mom and Dad could be at work...but where was Cherry? I sat for a while at the table trying to see if anyone would just randomly walk in...but no one came. I eventually decided to go take a shower and get ready for the day.

I went back upstairs and went into the bathroom. I took a short look in the mirror. The reflection staring back at me looked like no one I knew, just a girl who didn't know who or what she was. I looked at myself disgusted and turned away from the mirror. I turned the shower on and slowly got in. The warm water felt pretty soothing. I washed my hair and body and all the stuff you normally did while taking a shower...

After I was done, I headed back to my room wrapped in a towel. I shut the door behind me as I walked in and I went over to find some clothes. I had picked out a dark blue skirt that went just above my knees, and a white blouse. I had started to put on my skirt when the phone rang. "Damn..." I muttered under my breath and went over to answer the phone.

"Hello?" I said.

"Will? It's Cherry."

"Cherry? Where are you?" I asked.

"Oh, Marcia and I went to go pick up a few things, but I'm getting ready to come back to the house. I just wanted to see if you were finally up."

"Oh...yeah I'm up. I didn't even remember falling asleep..."

"I'll say. Well, I'll be home in about ten minutes, so I'll see you soon ok?"

"Alright, bye." I said hanging up.

I finished getting dressed and I brushed my hair out and left it down. It usually looked better that way anyways.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dally's POV

_Damn the sun...damn it to hell... _I thought to myself as I slowly woke up. My eyes slowly opened and adjusted to my surroundings. All of the events last night came back and hit me like a cinder block. Willow...my parents...everything...

I sat up slowly and blinked the sleep away from my eyes. No one was around...that wasn't normal...although I heard some clinking around in the kitchen. It was probably Ponyboy. Soda and Darry might be at work. Did they work on Sundays? Hell, too much thinking for the morning...shit it wasn't even morning. It was 12:30 in the afternoon. I decided to get up and check out what was going on.

My suspicions were right, it was Ponyboy cleaning up in the kitchen. "Hey Pony." I said, walking past him and taking a beer out of the fridge. He was washing dishes.

"Hey Dal." He replied finishing the last dish in the sink.

"Any new action?" I asked, before taking a giant swig of my beer.

"Nah, not really. Darry's at work till way later, and Soda gets off soon." He said, joining me at the table.

"Cool." I replied, before taking another gulp of my beer.

"So what are your plans later Dal?"

"Well, there's a big dance at the school, thought I'd crash." I said with a laugh.

At that moment, Soda and Steve came through the door. "Long day..." Soda muttered, getting 2 bottles of pepsi out of the refrigerator and tossed one to Steve.

"What's new?" Soda asked coming up behind Pony's chair and ruffling his hair. Pony laughed and playfully slapped Soda on the arm.

"Nothin' just thinkin' on going to that dance over at the school tonight." I said.

"Tuff, Soda and I are goin'." Steve said patting Soda on the shoulder.

"Sounds cool, I don't know if Two-Bit's planning on goin' but I'll talk to him later. How about you Pony? You wanna cruise for some action?" I asked him.

His eyes lit up. They always did when we asked him to go some place. But he kept his cool. "Yeah, sure. Sounds fun."

"Well, the dance is at what...7? So, I'm gonna go shower and stuff." I said, walking past all of them and off to take a shower.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Willow's POV

Cherry came in a little later than she said and placed a bunch of bags on the kitchen table, where I was sitting.

"What's all this?" I asked, looking at the bags.

"Clothes and make-up for the dance tonight...you _did _remember right?" She asked me.

"Oh, dance...right..." I said. I completely forgot. Who could possibly blame me right now?

I picked up a bag and started to look through it. I liked all the stuff that was inside. "How much was all of this?" I asked.

"Around 40 dollars or something, but dad said I could spend as much as I want, being the dance and all." She said looking through the refrigerator.

"Should I still go? I mean, Randy and I broke up and everything..." I said softly.

She turned around and looked at me with a soft look in her eyes. "I think you should, it's the dance, and we don't have many. Don't let Randy get you down." She said.

"It's not like _he_ broke up with _me_...I sort of dumped _him_..."

"He understands, Will. He knows you're going through a rough time with seeing your former brother for the first time in what was it...eight years?"

"Nine..." I corrected her. "Nine years..."

"_Nine _years..." She repeated. "But he understands...it's hard...it's not like you'd _want _to be involved with him. It's not like you went looking for him." She said with a laugh.

"Yeah..." I said softly.

Cherry didn't understand how close we used to be. We used to be best friends. I was never as close to anyone but him.

"Well, it's almost 3, Will...we might want to start getting ready." Cherry suggested. I nodded, grabbed a few bags, and followed her upstairs.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_6:30 PM _

Willow's POV

"Where are my girls?" I heard my dad say downstairs. Cherry and I were on our way downstairs and we were all ready for the dance. We were both dressed in blue dresses that went a little past our knees, Cherry's hair was curled as usual, and mine was straight.

"You two look beautiful!" My mom exclaimed as we walked down the stairs. We both smiled and gave her a hug. "You both look amazing." My dad said, giving us both a hug. Not long after, the door bell rang. My mom opened it and Bob came in, "Hello Mr and Mrs Valance. He said politely.

"Cherry...you look stunning." Bob said pulling her into a hug. Then his gaze fell on me. "You look beautiful too Willow." He smiled, giving me a hug too. "Thanks Bob." I smiled.

We talked a little while longer, but then went out to the car and pretty soon we were on our way to the dance.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**I was planning on writing a lot more, but I actually have to go somewhere with my friend. Sorry if this chapter was kinda poorly written, I wanted to make absolutely sure that you'd have a new one by today. I'm already working on the next chapter, and I promise it'll be exciting! And I'm not going to wait so long to update this time! Thanks for being so patient:) Please review:D**

**-Casey**


	8. Both Wrong

**--Disclaimer: I still don't own the Outsiders, S.E Hinton does, I do however own Willow and all the characters you don't see in the book or movie. **

**Author Note: AHH! Guys, I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in so long, but I started my new job 2 weeks ago and every thing's gotten so hectic! I'm in like a billion plays at school, so drama takes up a lot of my time, so school, drama, choir, and my job keep me busy. But I want you to know, that I HAVEN'T abandoned this story! I'm so sorry to have left you for so long. I know it sucks when authors just kind of abandon their stories. But, I'm here!**

**-Casey**

_**Reviews: **_

_Rugrats101_ - I'm incredibly lucky, since I left you guys hanging for so long!

blame it on the government - Aww, Thanks. I'm sooo glad you like it!

JessH89 - Yay! I got you excited! But yeah school's gotten so busy and I've been working a lot. But I hope you'll still be reading!

CrazyFoxDemon369 - Aww thanks. Sorry that this update wasn't sooner. :(

angelchild - Thanks!

**Chapter 8. "Both Wrong."**

Dally's POV

"This place lacks a certain...tuffness...dont'cha think?" I asked the gang dryly, as we made our way through the dance. We looked around at all the decorations hanging up. Little paper stars and glitter, and some confetti and streamers. It was pretty lame. "I dunno Dal, it looks so..._pretty and romantic_ don't you think?" Two-Bit joked, batting his eyes like a girl. I playfully punched him on the shoulder, and we made our way over to the food. The _only_ thing that didn't suck at this dance.

"This place needs some kicks ya know?" I said to Two-Bit, who was stuffing his face with chips.

"I mean, what's the point of these dances, when all everyone does is, talk about the last touchdown they scored or the new damn zit they're gettin'. I dunno Two-Bit but this is just practically the dullest dance I've ever been to. At least at the last one, it was raided by the cops, but this is just too...too..." I said, trying to find a way to describe it.

"Soc...y?" Two-Bit suggested. I laughed and slapped him on the shoulder.

"_That's _what it is! This place is chalk full of Soc's and their dumb ass Soc ego's. Honestly, isn't there one place in this town that ain't full of Soc scum, huh?" I asked Two-Bit with a grin. Damn this dance was just out of it.

Soda was off talking to some girl with Steve, Ponyboy and Johnny were sitting in chairs talking, and Two-Bit and I were standing here looking for some trouble or something that wasn't as boring as this.

"Hey Two-Bit, why don't we check out some of the babes here, huh?" I laughed. He grinned, and followed as I made my way into the crowd. We started to brush up against the girls as we made our way past them, and we started to make a game out of it, saying sarcastic remarks like, _"Oh, excuse me doll-face", or "How'd that ass fit in that dress?" _And just anything to make them scoff and say remarks of their very own. We were having a good time playing our little game but something caught my eye and I stopped dead in my tracks. It didn't take me long to spot her, but there she was. Willow...off talking to some guy.

I stood, hesitating whether to continue with the game, run, or maybe actually try talking to her. I couldn't talk to her, plus, she was a Soc...why the hell should I bother?

"What the _hell_ were you thinkin' when you bought that dress? I'm gonna get some Soc up my dress tonight!" I laughed while the girl looked really offended.

Two-Bit and I continued to keep saying things like that to the girls when suddenly I felt someone push me roughly from behind. It didn't make me budge all that much, but I could tell it was a girl who pushed me. Pretty strong for a girl too. I turned around, ready to tell the girl off, but I was met by piercing green eyes that looked filled with anger. The look that the eyes gave off made my stomach turn to ice. It was Willow and she looked far from happy. She had a group of girls that we had said some of the more particular nasty things to.

"_Who the hell do you think you are?" _She said, coldly.

I didn't respond, I was too shocked by how mad she was to even say anything.

"Do you think you can come in here and ruin the dance we all worked so hard on to put together? And honestly, who taught you how to say all those nasty things to people? I sure as hell know your mother didn't." She said coldly, and turned away from me in disgust.

I didn't like how she said _your _mother. She was _our _mother.

"Well...this dance sucks anyway!" I said almost kicking myself for how stupid I just sounded but nothing else came in mind to say.

She turned back around to face me. "Then _why are you here? _Don't you have a garbage to hang around in? Or a junk yard or something more _your _style?" She laughed with the girls that she had with her.

At this point, I didn't care who she was, I didn't care if she made fun of me, or whatever, but _nothing_ pissed me off more than a Soc talking down to us. Especially this being my sister. But when a Soc talks down to me, they can't tell their side of the story for weeks because of how busted up their jaw is. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from her friends, she protested and kept telling me to let go of her, but I pulled her along outside and roughly pushed her against the wall.

"If there's _one_ thing in the world that I can't stand. It's dirty rotten Soc's like you talking down to us. So what if we don't get 100 dollars a week for allowance? And so what if daddy doesn't read us a bed time story at night? You know what? All we got is what we have. No more, but always less. We normally leave your kind alone, but it's always you continuing to come around us and tell us how low we are, and tonight I thought I'd give you a taste of your own medicine. It doesn't feel good feeling like the lower half does it?" I asked shaking her a little.

"Don't put this on me. I know all about you, you always talk trash to Soc girls who can't fight back or anything. The things you say can be worse than a slap to the face. You're sick. I don't know what the hell happened to you growing up, but whatever it is, you would've been better off scumming up some other state." She said coldly.

"So what if I say things like that? Half of it ain't true anyway. Some Soc's can be good lookin'. But sometimes I just ain't got nothin better to do. What about you Soc's huh? Always coming at us, and fightin' us. you start the fights almost all the time, and didn't you have better things to do, like buy a new mustang?"

Suddenly a voice sounded from behind us. "You're both wrong." We both turned around and were shocked to see Soda standing there with a girl around his arm.

"Soda...what the hell do you mean?"

"I said..." He said angrily. "You're _both _wrong. Dally, I don't know who that girl is, but she ain't got right to talk down to you, and you ain't got right to talk down to her. _You're both wrong." _He gave us an angry glance and walked away with the girl.

"Who was that?" She asked, watching him walk away.

"A good friend of mine..." I said softly, trying to make sense of what he meant.

"This isn't how I wanted our first conversation to be if we even had one you know..." She said, breaking me away from my thoughts.

"Oh no? What did you want it to be? Making fun of how low I smoke a cigarette? Is that how you wanted it to be?" I asked, roughly.

"No, not like that. If we even talked at all, I didn't want it to be like this." She said. She sounded a little upset.

"Oh? Then how did you want it to be?" I asked.

"I don't know..." She said shaking her head. "Just...not like this." She said. I saw a tear slide down her cheek and she began to walk away from me.

I wasn't going to let her walk away just yet.

"No, don't go." I said, grabbing onto her arm and pulling her back.

"I have to go back in..." She said, trying to pull away.

"No. We have some talking to do."

**---------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Can't you just feel the tension between them? Lol. And this was a big moment, where Willow first saw Soda! Because you know that this is Willow/Soda. :) If you notice, this chapter has a lot of unresolved things, and I'm trying to take this story slowly. We all know that when you find someone like brother or a sister and they're so different, they aren't going to be "Tra la la la la, live happily ever after." A story wouldn't be a story without obstacles and conflicts, and Willow and Dally are finally breaking the ice here, it's their first real conversation and as Soda said, "They're both wrong." Lol, they need to resolve this conflict.**

**So, I hope you guys understand why this is going so painfully slow, but I want it to be enjoyable and realistic. Again, sorry I took so long to update and I won't try to let it happen again, and I hope I still have readers, and that the chapter wasn't boring for you! I'm trying to keep it interesting!**

**Please review!**

**xoxo - Casey**


	9. Meeting Sodapop Curtis

**-Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders. S.E Hinton does. I do however, own Willow and the other's you don't see in the movie or book.**

**Author Note: Guys, I'm SO sorry it took so long again! I hate myself for it! But here's a nice chapter to make up for it. :(**

**Reviewers: **

_JessH89_ - Well you're in luck! You'll find out now:)

Rugrats101 - Well, I'm close to a month now, sadly. :( But I'm gonna try hard not to wait so long again. EEK.

CrazyFoxDemon369 - Yeah, Dally probably wanted to though. :) lol. But it'd be wrong for him to do that since she's a girl and it's his sister. Thanks for reviewing. :)

**Sadly, I think I'm losing a lot of reviewers. :( That may be why I wasn't inspired to write. Well, I was VERY busy. But I get my inspiration from what you guys think. I hope some of you come back, because I'm losing you guys by the chapter. :( Just warning you though, this chapter's going to be kind of emotional and stuff, but it needs to be realistic, and you'll see why. **

**Chapter 9. "Meeting Sodapop Curtis."**

**Willow's POV**

Why didn't I just run while I had the chance? I screamed at myself. It was so awkward sitting here with my long forgotten brother, whom I didn't intend to remember. Why was I here?

"So, you like being a Soc?" Dally bluntly asked, breaking me from my thoughts.

We were sitting on the bench in front of the school fountain, and it had been a little cold so I was shivering a little.

"Huh?" I asked, stunned by the question.

"Do you like being a high and mighty Soc? Do you think you're all that?" He asked, getting meaner.

"Wha--what do you mean?" I stuttered. Why was he being so mean all of a sudden?

"Do you like running around thinking that you're God? Do you like treating us like shit? Huh! Do you!" He yelled at me.

"W-why are you being so mean?" I asked, getting angrier. This conversation was going nowhere.

Something flickered in his eye and he stopped looking so angry.

"I'm sorry...you can't really blame me, though. You people really piss me off." He said, placing a hand on his forehead in frustration.

To tell you the honest truth, the way he said, _you people _bothered me. For some strange reason, I didn't want to be different from him. But soon I snapped away from those thoughts.

"Well, what do you suppose we do? Should we ignore the fact that we live in the same city...which would be wise...or god, I don't know...what the hell should we do?" I asked, frustrated. What the hell _should _we do?

"Willow, you can't ignore this...I mean hey, I ain't jumpin up to go play some golf, and have a picnic either. As much as I'd like to take this whole situation and spit on it, there's nothing I can do. And just well...damn." He started to twist his words and soon, he just lost his train of thought and stopped talking.

We sat in an awkward silence for a little while until I finally spoke up. "So...how are mom and dad...?" I asked, slowly. I don't know why I asked, it was the only thing on my mind. And it was something I kind of wanted to know.

"Terrible." Dally spoke, dryly. "They're...they're just unbearable. I can't stand them. It's sickening to look at them. They're just...not living."

"What do you mean not living?" I asked. My stomach felt like ice. What was Dally talking about?

"They stopped trying to find you after a while...and just stopped living. They don't care about anything. Damn them. I mean, I _know_ they lost one kid, but they didn't lose the other one did they! I mean, they lost you, but what about me huh? I wasn't taking by some drug dealing Soc, but they forgot all about me. They just stopped caring about everything...including me." He said bitterly.

I felt tears building up in my eyes. "Why would they stop caring about the one child they _did_ have?" I asked in disbelief. What the hell happened to my parents?

"Forget about it." He said angrily.

I nodded and fell silent. This whole silent thing was driving me crazy. We had to do _something.\_

"Look, it's either we move on with our lives, or something." I said.

Dally didn't say anything. It looked like he was thinking. Finally he stood up really quickly, making me jump.

"Look Will, we can't ignore this, ok?" He said angrily.

"Alright, fine. But Dallas, if you noticed, We're DIFFERENT!" I yelled. "We can't be seen talking...we can't hang out...we--we can't---"

Dally cut me off.

"Why not huh? It is because of who I am? What it is huh?"

"Your friends wouldn't like it, and neither would mine...and my parents---"

"They're NOT your parents Willow!" Dally yelled.

"Look...I just can't do this!" I yelled and ran towards the school building leaving him far behind.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Dally's POV**

Whatever...let her go. I don't care. I thought to myself as I made my way back towards the dance, alone.

"So, who was that?" I heard a voice say behind me.

I turned and saw Soda behind me.

"Hey Soda, where's that broad you were with huh?" I asked.

"You know me. Girls change like socks." He smiled. "So, who was she huh?"

"My sister..." I said.

"Dal, you don't have a sister."

"I _did, _Sodapop, I _did."_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About a week later...

**Willow's POV**

It was pretty rainy and cold outside, so I decided to stay in and read. It was hard to concentrate though. I still felt bad for running off on Dally like that. But it was too much at once. I knew my dad would throw a fit if he knew that Dally was here. What did he expect me to do? We couldn't just live happily ever after. But, I wasn't making it any easier by running away from him all the time. I have to talk to him.

I closed my book, and made my way over to my coat rack and put on my long black coat. I made my way downstairs quietly, and slipped out the door. It was about 4:00 so dad wouldn't be home from work yet. I made my way down the street looking for any _harmless_ looking Greasers, who might know where Dally was.

I was risking a lot by going to this side of town, and I knew it. I got some cat calls, as I made my way down the road. I gazed at some broken down buildings, and some real nice ones. I always thought it would all be broken down. Shows how my prejudice doesn't work for me.

"Hey hot-stuff, what're you doing on this side of town? You lost?" I heard a rough voice say. My insides froze. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid. I didn't turn around, but I stopped dead in my tracks. "I have business to attend to." I said. Then I heard the voice laugh. "Precious the only _business _you have doesn't involve you here...so why don't I...re-locate you?" He said with another laugh. Then I heard another voice behind me.

"That won't be necessary Tim."

"Hey Curtis, how's it goin?"

"Pretty good, but I know this girl, I'll take care of it.

"Sounds cool, I'll see you at the party later."

"Tuff."

Finally I turned around to see a not-so-nice looking guy, and the boy who I thought was cute at the dance. The mean looking one, walked away, smoking a cigarette, and the cute one came towards me.

"Hey, I'm Sodapop Curtis." He said, smiling. He smiled even bigger when he saw the look on my face. "Go ahead, you can laugh."

I let out a tiny laugh and held my hand out. "I'm Willow Valance." He took my hand and kissed it. "Enchante Mademoiselle."

"You're certainly a ladies man, aren't you?" I asked, with a shy laugh.

"I do try." He smiled. "So, what're you doing on this side of town?"

"I'm actually trying to find someone, and I bet you can help me with that." I said with a smile.

"Who might that be?" He asked.

"Dallas Winston..." I said.

"Trying to find your brother are you?"

That took me by surprise.

"What? H-h-how did you know?" I asked, shocked.

"I overheard you guys at the dance." He said motioning me to follow him.

I slowly began to follow.

"Oh..." I said, managing to only to get one word out.

"You know, if you and Dally get it together, I wouldn't mind it if you hung around a lot more." He said with that cute smile of his.

Sodapop Curtis was one of the most good looking guys on the planet! I just couldn't seem to stop smiling until we reached a door and he said, "This is his house." I knew on the other side my real parents were there.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Ok, so pretty lame chapter, but I HAD to write. I'm still sorry it took so long. This personally wasn't my best, but I wanted to make it as realistic as possible, and I wanted to get something written before I went to work today. I hope you guys like it. PLEASE REVIEW. And I hope some of the other reviewers come back! **

**-Casey**


	10. Searching For Dally

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders, I do however, Own Willow and the characters you don't see in the book or movie.**

**AUTHOR NOTE: Guys!!! I'm so sorry!!! Time is still my enemy and I can't believe I didn't update for as long as I did! I've just had so much! I hope you guys are still around!!!**

**-A much saddened girl, Casey. :( **

_**Reviewers:**_

Blondie 24-7 - I love Soda toooo! I'm glad to see you _were_ back. I hope you still are!!!

Rugrats101 - Yeah Willow can be quite a dope lol. But she doesn't really know what to believe. Thanks for reviewing!!!

Lilshorty9030 - Thank you very much!!!

Tiffany - Yeah I know! I'm awful! But I'm updating right now! Lol, I shall pull you out of this evil cliffy. ;)

**Chapter 10. "Searching for Dally."**

I stared at the door for what seemed like hours until I felt a small nudge against my shoulder. "Go on." Soda urged me. I looked back at him, blankly. "Soda...I can't go in there..." I mumbled. I could feel my cheeks growing warm. My heart beating against my chest like a drum.

"Why can't you?" Soda asked. I looked at him, at a loss for what to tell him. "It's just been too long. W-what would I say?" I stammered. Soda didn't respond. He just looked down at the ground and back up at me with his cool blue eyes. They seemed to gaze right through me. "Just say what comes to mind." He suggested.

"Easier said than done..." I muttered and turned back towards the door. I raised a shaky fist to knock, I held it in the air for a while. I finally after a few moments of hesitation knocked softly. "You knock like that, ain't nobody going to hear you." Soda teased and knocked for me. I held my breath, hearing footsteps approaching the door. the door slowly creaked open and I was met by a woman. She stared at me with eyes that seemed lost. Her hair was thrown up into a messy pony tail, her clothes were a little too big and she looked like she hadn't slept in days. What had become of my mother? The beautiful gracious woman I used to know?

"Can I help you?" She said, softly. I took a few breaths and then said, "I-I'm looking for a Dallas Winston...h-have you seen him?" I said trying to stop from choking on my words. She looked at me strange because I stuttered so much. "Are you all right? Did he hurt you?" She asked. If I wasn't mistaken she sounded like she had a small trace of concern in her voice.

"N-no, he didn't hurt me, I'm just looking for him is all." I responded. She looked at me uncertainly, "He's not here at the moment, can I ask your name so I can tell him you came by?" She asked me. "Oh...I'm Wi--nona...Winona." I said. I could practically hear Soda's dissapointment as he kicked the ground softly with his shoe. "I'll tell him you came by." She said, also sounding a bit dissapointed. "I had rather hoped that you might have been...forget it, enjoy your day." She continued and closed the door softly.

"How could you do that?" Soda asked me coldly. I stared at him, tears starting to form in my eyes. "You don't know what it's like Soda!" I began, walking away from the door and out to the street so my mother and father, _if he was there, _wouldn't hear the commotion. We both began walking down the street. "I used to have such a normal life, but then, it was taken from me. I learned to forget about it and move on. I was with another family, and things seemed almost all right again, but then I ran into _him _at the movie theatre. Talk about crazy coincidence. To go back to a life left behind, it's _really, really hard_ Soda, don't you understand?" I asked.

He folded his arms and kept walking. Silence filled the air as we walked. Suddenly he spoke up. "I understand...but I don't believe that you could just _leave _something behind."

"I guess I didn't _leave _it, but I took a long absence, and it seems odd to go back to that." I explained.

He nodded and yet again, stayed silent. We walked and walked until we were standing in front of a house that looked a little rundown. "Whose house is this?" I asked. He turned around and softly grabbed my hand. "Mine."

He pulled me towards the door, and guided me in. I was met by the delicious smell of chicken and potatoes. The house was pretty clean, it looked nothing like it did on the outside. "Soda is that you?" I heard an older voice call from the other room. "Yeah Dar, it's me."

I heard a few footsteps and then my eyes landed on a tall, muscular, and not to mention, handsome guy walking into the room wearing an apron. The apron was pretty amusing on a guy who looked so tough. "Who's your friend, little buddy?" He asked, wiping his hands off on a towel he was holding. "Dar, this is Willow, Willow, this is my older brother, Darry." Soda introduced. I extended my hand that he took and gently kissed it. "Wow, I'm guessing this family's just _full_ of gentlemen." I laughed.

My laughter was interrupted by the door opening and slamming shut. "Two-Bit I swear to God, if you don't shut up, I'll hang you from the roof until all you're good for is scaring crows away, understand?" Stated the boy who just walked in. He clearly was a little young, but cute non-the-less. I narrowed my eyes at the boy who followed. It was the guy who hit on me at the movies.

"Meet the youngest; my brother, Ponyboy." Soda introduced. Ponyboy was caught off guard. He looked up and stared at me for a minute. "Who's this, Soda?" He asked. Another voice cut in before Soda could respond. "Heeey, it's that girl from the drive-in!" The boy I guess who was named...Two-Bit, said.

"Yeah, I remember _you quite_ well." I responsed, stiffly. "That's just Two-Bit, he really don't mean nothin' best to just ignore him." Soda told me. "Aww C'mon fizz, you don't mean that!" Two-Bit stated, flopping onto the couch."to answer your question Pony, she's a Soc from the other side of town, I'm trying to help her find Dally." Soda answered. "You're looking for Dally?" Darry asked. I nodded.

"Oh, well, Dal's asleep upstairs." Darry responded. _He was upstairs? It was about time that Dally and I had an actual conversation one-on-one. Tonight, that conversation would happen, but who would've thought it wouldn't turn out the way I hoped?_

--------------------------------------------------

**Sorry it's been so long! But hey, I finally got a new chapter up!!! Hopefully you guys are still around. I wanted to see if I still had people, so this chapter was pretty dull and short for that reason. The next chapter should be a lot more exciting. PLEASE tell me that you guys are still around! Review, please!!!**

**-Casey.**


	11. A Final Sigh of Relief

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders. I do however, own Willow and all the characters you don't see in the movie or the book.**

**Author Note:**

**I've come to realize...I'm a total jerk! I cannot believe I can leave you guys as long as I do! Uggh, I'm a loser, sorry. I've had finals, so now I'm approaching my LAST DAY OF SCHOOL for my Junior year!!! This summer, I know I'll find an extraordinary amount of time to write. I took a vow. But now, finally, here is chapter 11! By the way, I wrote it EXTRA long to say sorry, and plus, I had a lot to write.**

**-Casey**

_**Reviewers:**_

Swizzlet-Schiz - Finally, a new chapter! I'm sorry it took so long!

lil'missvixin - Thank you!!! I'm glad you like it! Sorry I made you tear up...but I guess I did my job in making it sad. :) I'd hoped that it would maybe make a few tears happen. :D

bailey92192 - Finally is right. Finally, here's another one:) Thanks for the review!!!

babygurl33 - I'm finally updating!!! Ever since eight grade, my best friend and I used to create Outsiders stories with our vocabulary homework, and one day I coined up the nickname of "Fizz" for Soda. I'm glad you thought it was neat.

FiASC0 - Good to hear:) I know I wrote Soda a lot harsher than he would be, but the intention I had was for him to be a bit disappointed, but it should all be explained later. Good detection on that part though.

staygldponyboy - Finally more!

caitly - I'm soooo glad!!! It was actually you who really got me into posting right now! I had blanked out a bit about the story, but your review reminded me that I needed to do so, and I was keeping you all waiting!!!

**Thanks to all the reviewers who still remain faithful, even though I lack in the updating department. :( I owe you guys my life and a half. Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming! **

**-Casey**

**Chapter 11. "A Final Sigh of Relief"**

**Willow's POV**

I tried to keep my cool as I approached the stairs. I was fully aware that the guys were staring at me from behind as I hastily made my way to the stairway. I cleared all thoughts in my head and made up my mind completely. _Willow, just get up the stairs! The guys are looking at you like you're completely off your rocker! Just go! _Well, I suppose that was easy for my mind to say; however, my body was recusantly not obliging.

Somehow, I managed to get my feet to move, and I slowly, but surely climbed the stairs...it was then that I didn't realize what room he was in, so I ran back down.

"Um--w-which room is he in?" I asked, stupidly.

Darry just smiled at me and pointed. "First one on your left."

I nodded a thanks, and ran back to the stairs and climbed yet again...but quicker than last time. _It's just Dally... _I kept repeating. I couldn't explain why I was so nervous...I think it might have something so do with the fact that him and I haven't had a suitable conversation in years. Before I knew it, I finally reached the room Darry indicated. I slowly raised a hand and knocked softly. _Willow, you're such a loser! You're an easy sleeper and even __you__ wouldn't wake up to that! _However, I was surprised to hear a reply from behind the door.

"Who is it, and whaddya want?"

That caught me off guard, but I replied as clear as I could all the same. "D-Dally? It's me, Willow..." I called through the door.

"That answered the who...but the what do you want part still remains to be heard." I heard him reply coldly.

I shuddered at the coldness of his voice. It was like being stuck on the Titanic and beginning to be engulfed by the freezing water. "Dal...I just want to talk is all..."

"Oh yeah? You want to talk? I tried to reason with you a while back, but if you recall, "You just couldn't do it."

"Listen Dal, I know what I said, OK? Can you please open the door? It's hard to talk through it..."

At first I didn't think Dally was going to open the door. Silence gripped the air, and I didn't hear any footsteps. I had just begun to sigh deeply, and turn towards the stairway, when the door creaked open. Surprised, I turned and was met by Dally's cold hard gaze greeting me from the doorway.

"So you want to talk huh?" He asked, imitating the gesture of "after you" beckoning me into the bedroom. I slowly walked into the room, and heard the door close with a snap behind me. I found a spot on the bed and sat down slowly, gazing up at Dally. I thought he'd stand there like an Indian soldier forever...but he finally took a seat near the top of the bed, leaned against it, and lit a cigarette. While he did so, he finally spoke, "So, about this talking think you're so keen on doing...enlighten me."

"Dal, first, I know I shouldn't have run off at that dance...I'm just not used to this...you have to understand what I've been through!"

Dally looked at me unconvinced. "Yeah...sing me a new tune will you? This one's grown old."

That hit like a bundle of rocks in my stomach. Why was he acting so cold???

"Look, Dal, I didn't come up here to be insulted. We need to settle our differences." I insisted.

"It's you who has been difficult you know -- it wasn't like I pushed _you _away."

I bit my lip softly. I had no clever retort to his comment. He was right. I _had _been pushing him away. No more. I can't keep pushing him away like that. He was my brother by birth and blood...I couldn't keep treating him like anything less. I simply couldn't.

"Dally...I know I've been a real idiot..." I started, and was met by a sarcastic laugh. I looked down at my hands folded neatly on my lap and continued, "It's my fault we haven't been getting along. It's about time we did. I've come to realize I blame what happened to me for everything that goes wrong...and it's not the right thing...it's like an addiction." Dally cut me off in a small laugh.

"An addictive excuse, huh?" He sneered, taking a long drag off his cigarette.

"Could you not --" I began, I stopped myself. I almost asked him if he couldn't smoke at this time, but I stopped myself. That was just the new part of me talking. The more I talked with Dally, the less I wanted that part of me to show.

"Could I not...what?" He asked.

"I was going to ask if you could stop smoking...b-but forget it...I really don't care." I lied about the last part, but I really wanted him to look past the Soc right now, and talk to me on the same level.

"I can see past that. You aren't hiding the Soc from me, I know you don't like smoking."

I was a little surprised from that. "H-how?"

"You _never _did." Dally replied, putting it out.

"I guess I didn't...never could stand how it smelled." I laughed.

He smiled slightly and crossed his arms across his chest. After about a couple seconds, his smile faded.

"I have to get this out Dal...I'm really sorry about treating you the way I did. It was wrong of me to judge you and the lifestyle you live. I'm living a lie. It's all a lie...but somehow I can't stop believing in it. No matter how hard I try...I find comfort there...with my mom, my dad, my sister...but I know they're really not...and for some reason...I won't stop believing in it. I had a great life with you...and our mom and dad -- but Dally, I'm torn. It's like I'm two different people! One a Soc...and the other doesn't know. It's so difficult, Dal! Waking up and not knowing...not knowing who you are...just _pretending_..._hoping_ you're who you think you are...but you're not...it's all a game! It's all fake...pretend...a game! A game!" I finally broke down. Tears were leaking out like the beginning of a rain storm. I couldn't stop.

I was surprised when Dally pulled me into his arms. I cried harder than ever, nonstop into his chest. He just stroked my hair and murmured comforting words while I cried. It felt unbelievable to be back in my brother's arms again. I missed how he used to be the one to comfort me when I was sad. It was so nice to feel the warmth rush back into my heart where it had been ice cold. I felt safe from the world...I felt like _Willow _again. Not Willow Valance; Willow Winston, the little girl who had been long lost. After a few minutes, my crying stopped and my breathing returned to normal. I didn't want to leave his embrace, but reluctantly, I did.

"Feel better?" He asked, handing me a tissue from the dresser next to us.

I smiled to say thanks, and blew my nose. "I'm really embarrassed...I shouldn't have broken down like that..." A part of me was angry that I did. I had rather hoped that I could push this aside and move on...I was stuck. I knew I could never turn my back on him, or any of this now. the other part of me, I wish I knew more about was ecstatic at the fact that Dally and I were having a **calm and rational conversation!**

Dally surprisingly, smiled. "You needed to. You've been holding that in for nine years. You needed to let it go."

"You know what I've noticed? You act so much different outside than how you are now. You're...colder...and you're mean to people. _Why? _You're being nice to me right now...but why are you so different any other time?"

That caught him off guard. "Well...you're my sister. I've been waiting for us to have this talk for weeks, Will. I have a rep with the other guys. I'm known as this tough guy who doesn't take shit from anybody..."

"You never used to be like that. You've changed significantly. _Why?_" I pressed further.

He sighed and stared up at the ceiling for a minute. "You. You changed me. You being gone...mom and dad not caring. I soon just stopped caring. After a while, I learned crying did no good, and I held it in."

"Oh--" I replied. We sat in silence for a minute. "Where do we go from here? I'm so lost."

"Well, it all depends on what you want to do, I guess...I'd prefer that you didn't keep trying to be someone you're not..."

"As would I...but it isn't that simple. I can't just--just run away from my life there...and I can't turn my back here!"

"Let's just take it a step at a time, Wil."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After what seemed like a longer time, we opened the door and came out of the bedroom.

"Fresh air...I almost forgot what that felt like." I joked, as we walked down the stairs together. Downstairs, the guys were all over the place. Some were playing cards...others crowded around the TV one hopping around screaming "Mickey"...that _Two-Bit_ guy again. I suppose Dally caught my gaze because he replied with, "You'll get used to them.

My eyes landed on Soda who was sitting on the couch next to another guy who looked a bit more serious. Soda was grinning at Two-Bit who was still dancing around the room. _Could he be any cuter?! _I asked myself as my eyes checked out every feature of him. His smile was astounding. It was a smile that could make you _melt_. He must've saw me staring because he grinned wider. "Hey Willow, I didn't think you'd ever come back!"

I grinned and looked at Dally. "I didn't think so either." I think I surprised him and everyone, because I hugged him all of a sudden. A real tight bear hug that I wanted to give him for so long. Everyone started to stare. "So Dal...who's the chick, huh?" Two-Bit asked, incredulously.

Dally grinned. "My sister."

"Sister? Since when???" Two-Bit snickered, taking a huge bite of what appeared to be chocolate cake, and downed it with beer.

Dally and I decided it was best, so we all sat down and went through the story. It was about time we did. The part of me I liked was relieved. I finally felt like I belonged somewhere. I didn't want to rush into things, but I loved it here. I really did! I felt so at ease. Like I could be who I wanted to be, without someone telling me it was wrong.

"That's deep." The serious guy who I later learned to be Soda's best friend Steve, said.

"But not a finished chapter." I replied with a deep sigh. I looked up at the wall and caught a glimpse at the clock. _6:57._

"Oh no!" I cried, and grabbed my sweater on the table.

"Where's the fire, huh?" Two-Bit asked me. They all stared at me curiously.

"As much as I wish I didn't have to...I have to go home..." I said, regrettably.

"Are you gonna come back?" Johnny, Ponyboy's best friend asked me. He was really cute and two years older than Pony, sixteen like me. He was really nice, but jumpy because he had been beaten up...by the kind I was _supposed _to belong to. Picking on someone like Johnny, even worse, beating him up for no reason, was inexcusable. If I _ever_ found the guy who did it...boy he'd be sorry.

"I hope so..." I started, but I corrected myself. "I know so. I've gone too far to stop now." I gave Dally an encouraging smile, a quick hug, and ran out the door. I am going to be in _SO_ much trouble. Dinner was at six. Dad..._Jeffery _found it a great offense to be late for dinner. How was I going to possibly explain? "Hey dad, I was out talking with Dally. Oh, you don't know Dally? He's the brother _you _stole me away from, remember? Well, I was hanging with him and all the Greasers!" Yeah right, like I could say that. But if not that, what would I possibly say??? I was really in for it.

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Please tell me everyone liked it! Sorry, it wasn't much action, but A LOT of talking. But hey, it was much needed talking, right? I hope it wasn't snooze and cruise boring! But anyway, sorry for the long time between updates...summer's here...a day away...that means updates!!! Plus, I'm all ready beginning Chapter 12! Wish me luck on my last day of Junior year and finals! Please review! I'll be your devoted slave. **

**-Casey**


	12. Worth It

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders. I do however, own Willow and all the other characters you don't see in the movie or the book.**

**Author Note: **

**Yay! It hasn't been **_**too **_**long since my last update, but here I am! I'm so glad that I still have readers! I don't know what I'd do without you guys!**

**-Casey**

_**Reviewers: **_

caitly - _Thank you! I'm so glad to hear that!_

Swizzlet-Schiz - _Yay, I'm updating! Thanks for still being here and encouraging me to write!_

edwards other bella - _You don't know how glad I am to hear that! I was always hoping my story wasn't one that readers would scroll past and go, "ANOTHER ONE???!!!!" So it's good to hear that mine's unique. Thank you!!!_

SisterCat144 - _I'm glad! Thank you for reviewing!!! It means a lot to me. _

**Thanks to all who reviewed. Reviews are like Christmas to me. I love to receive them. Keep them coming! thanks for all the encouragement guys!!!**

**-Casey**

**  
Chapter 12. "Worth It."**

**Dally's POV**

It was unbelievable. It felt like a great burden had been lifted off my shoulders. I watched as Willow ran out in a hurry, her red hair glowing in the sun as it trailed behind her. I really hoped that she was making a fuss out of nothing and that so-called _family _would leave her alone about it. I mean, doesn't she have a life? Shouldn't she live it? Soon, Soda burst me away from my thoughts.

"Feels good to have your sister back doesn't it, Dal?" He asked me with that trademark Soda smile.

"It's pretty tuff." I replied, still trying to sound cool. What the hell did I need to be cool for? I got my sister back, and that's all I've wanted since I could remember.

"So, why didn't you tell us you had a sister, Dally?" Johnny asked, cautiously.

I hated it when Johnny had to be cautious all the time. Why the hell did he have such a horrible life? I take that back. He has us, his life isn't terrible...but the Soc's and his folks didn't have to keep coming and making it the way it is. Johnny's so special to all of us, and I'll be damned if I let anything ever touch that kid again.

"I dunno, Johnny." I replied, honestly. "Never seemed like much point. She wasn't in my life, and so I didn't find much to tell."

He nodded and he and Pony went back to playing cards. I let my head fall back on the couch cushion and closed my eyes for a while. I felt completely at ease, but I had one thought on my mind. _My parents. _I couldn't begin to fathom what they would say when they realize that I had seen Willow on over 3 occasions and didn't even tell them she was around. I made up my mind and decided I wouldn't tell them. She wasn't ready for that at all, and plus, my parents didn't deserve to know. They're not in a state of mind to know. All in time. I'll leave it at that. All in time.

**Willow's POV**

I'm not going to lie, I **ran **from Soda's house to mine. My nerves were shot, and my thoughts were running faster than my feet were moving. What was he going to say to me when I walked through that door? What was I going to say in return?? What was I going to tell mom...and Cherry? What if he finds out??? OK! I have to stop thinking this way, or I'll have a nervous breakdown on the doorstep.

I decided that I'll just walk in casually, and apologise for being late. What am I, nuts? That'll never work. All I could do was give it a shot. Well, here it is...home. I walked slowly up to the door and kept my hand on the knob for about a minute. I slowly turned it and walked in. The house felt colder than usual...

I'm overreacting! I had to calm down...I wasn't going to be able to start a conversation at this rate.

_"Willow? _Is that you?" Came my _mom's _voice from the kitchen.

"Y-Yes!" I called back while trying to disguise my shaky voice. I bet if I came home late and it wasn't because of Dally, I'd be much calmer.

She came out of the dining room with her arms crossed. "Have lots of fun tonight?" She asked, coldly.

"I suppose..." I said, pretending like it was no big deal.

"You owe a **big **apology to your father. You know that six o'clock, is six o'clock, Willow. I don't have any idea what could have been more important than your father's feelings." She responded.

_I'll bet I have an idea what's more important. _I thought to myself.

"I know. Something just _came up _is all, Mom. I didn't mean to hurt Dad at all." I said. I hoped I was the world's best actress right now. It would take a miracle to convince her.

"It better have been dire, Willow. You get in there an apologise to your father, or your punishment will be far worse than it already is." She said pointing toward the dining room.

These people honestly took dinner _**way **_too seriously. I knew that it was always a rule to be home at six because _dad _thought it was _family _time. Why was it so important? I'll never know.

I honestly have to say that I didn't care as of this moment. I knew he was mad. Truthfully, I didn't care. He was mad? Well, I think I have the right to be mad at him, and not for a stupid reason like a routine six o'clock dinner that I missed _once _in the nine years I've been here. My nerves melted away like wax on a candle. I couldn't explain how I felt right now...but I felt the worst was over, but I had a hell of a lot of anger waiting to burst out. Why was I nervous so earlier? I now felt like I controlled the earth's rotation.

I walked into the kitchen heatedly and was met by _dad _scowling at me from the head of the table. My place at the table was still set and the food was still there. It looked like we had some kind of a ham dinner. It looked disgusting now, all cold and everything.

"Care to begin?" He said calmly, which knocked my confidence down to about zero. This guy shouldn't get the best of me! He owes me! I kept trying to tell myself, but he was a scary man.

"I-I was out with some friends...I l-lost track of time." I lied. "W-we had to get to the library before it closed and turn in Amber's overdo book...and we started to study...and l-lost track of time."

"You were with Amber, were you?" He asked. I nodded in reply.

"Cherry had Amber over for dinner. The dinner you missed because obviously, something more important happened in your life. Care to share what that was, Willow? This time, don't you _dare_ lie to me.

"Nothing...I was just out with a guy...and he and I went out to dinner." I lied again. I couldn't tell him where I was...there's no telling what he would do. Luckily, he seemed convinced this time.

"Well, I hope this guy was really important, because your punishment is just beginning." He said, in that same cool voice as before.

"What is it?" I asked. At this point, I don't know if I cared. I knew what I did was worth it. No punishment he could make up could make me take back what I did today.

"For starters, you're going to sit here and eat this meal your mother made for you. Afterwards, you're grounded. You'll go right to bed and not say a word until morning. You have extra chores, and you have to come right home after school, and cheer practice when you have it. Understood?" He told me.

"Understood." I responded, quietly.

"Good. Now eat." He responded, slamming the dining room door as he left.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

After I had finished eating, which was disgusting since it was cold and old, I went up to my room and closed the door rather loudly, but I didn't care. I was surprised I got off easy, since he completely over reacted...but I guess I expected it. Seeing Dally and finally resolving our problems...and seeing Soda...nothing could beat that. The only regret I had was not seeing them for a while...but I'll find a way. Jeffrey Valance wouldn't dare come in between what I had now. I was done living his fantasy. I was finally becoming who I was meant to be. My life as a Soc was ending, but my life as a Greaser as of now, is just beginning.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**I hope that wasn't awful. Jeffrey sucks as we all know, and completely over reacts over the stupidest things, but hey...he was insane from chapter 1, right:) Anyways, I hope it was ok...lots of talking and mood changes, but I wrote them for a reason. Not too much action, but I hope it was enjoyable. Please review guys!!! I seriously would love to hear what you have to say!!!**

**-Casey**


	13. Two Weeks Reunion

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders, S.E Hinton does. I do however, own Willow and all the characters you don't see in the book or movie.**

**Author Note:**

**Well, here I am again! Not too long since my last update (Thank God!) Sorry for the little bit of a wait. :P I'm a little worried because I feel like my story isn't doing as well as it used to...well, I don't get as many reviewers as I did before...which **_**is **_**probably my fault, but I hope more come soon! I need inspiration, and you guys inspire me!!! Thanks to those faithful ones who stick with me! I owe you much!!!**

**-Casey **

_Reviewers: _

Swizzlet-Schiz_ - That's great to hear!!! I hope you're enjoying it!_

SisterCat144 - _Great!!! I'm so glad:D_

Lost But Found - _The dinner is a BIG turning point, since Willow's starting to break the rules, Jeffrey's on to her. :) Great review!!! I'm so glad that you and others are noticing the effort I put in to make the story original. Thank you so much!!!_

_Where has everyone gone:( Thanks to those who reviewed!!!! _

_-Casey_

**Chapter 13. "Two Weeks Reunion"**

**Dally's POV**

I kicked the rock down the road as I walked...just watching the rock collide with the road and then rest a few inches further. This is how it's been all morning. It's been over two weeks since I last heard from Willow, where the hell was she?! At first it seemed logical that she'd have to lie low for a couple of days, but _two weeks???_ Another concern of mine was, _did she get caught? _If she did, I don't know what I'll do. I finally have my sister back, I'm not ready to lose the one thing I have left.

"Hey Dal, wait up--!" I heard a voice yell from behind me.

It was Soda. I stopped for a second to let him catch up, and then I resumed my walking again.

"No word from Willow yet, huh?" He guessed from the concentration I was still giving to the rock. I just made a sound as if to say yes. Thankfully Soda could decipher my sound, I wouldn't have been able to.

"I don't think you should worry all that much..." Soda spoke again. Leave it to Sodapop Curtis to think the best of an awful situation. I couldn't understand how he could always do that. I mean, he lost his parents for god sakes, you'd think the boy would find _one_ moment of sorrow!

"I'm not trying to sound all chipper or nothin', but in my opinion, I think Willow's fine." He assured me. I swear, that kid can read you like a book...too bad this book's closed.

"See you around." I told him, and started walking toward my house at a faster pace...Soda followed.

"Dal, I know you're worried...but give it a few more days...ya dig?"

_Yeah I dig...dig the hole to my damn grave, that's what I dig. _After that, I headed home even quicker, Soda got the hint and went home reluctantly. I felt kind of bad for giving him the cold shoulder here, but I'm in a bad state of mind, I ain't ready for the gang to start offering me reassurances when I ain't so sure. I just need to sleep...

**Willow's POV**

After what seemed like a decade, Jeffrey finally let up on the whole thing. We had this whole heart-felt discussion on the matter. It was all pretty stupid...but whatever worked to get me ungrounded sooner was worth it. It certainly was nice to leave my house without having to be for errands or something dumb like that. I could finally go out on my own, and it felt great. I was getting ready to go to Soda's house when I heard someone calling my name from behind me.

"Will, you wanna go grab a bite with Randy and I?" Cherry asked, a little breathy from running to catch up with me. _Great...this is just what I needed_...thankfully I could play this off without having to let her in on anything.

"Thanks for the offer Cher, but you know how awkward I feel being the third wheel and all." I said, grimly.

"Oh, I know...it's just...you're not grounded anymore, and I thought you'd want to get out is all..." She replied. She looked a little hurt so I decided to tell her the same lie I told Jeffrey.

"Well, I'm going over to Melanie's house and we were gonna head over and catch a movie. It'll feel good to get out and feel the wind in my hair and watch a great old movie!" I said with a few nervous laughs which I tried to conceal. She seemed to buy it, thankfully.

"OK Will," She laughed. "Try not to stay out past curfew or dad'll be in a right bad mood again. I don't want that for him, or for you, OK?"

"OK." I replied, hitting her shoulder playfully, and then turned around to start walking again. Cherry went her direction, I went mine. Dally must be furious. No word for two weeks...I didn't know what he'd say to me. I silently prayed that everyone wasn't mad. I didn't notice too much, but I walked faster while I was thinking and before I knew it, I was right in front of Soda's house. I bit my lower lip and slowly started toward the front door which banged open before I even got to it.

"Hey gang! Look who isn't dead!" Two-Bit shouted back inside the house. I smiled and walked right up to him. "Are you happy that I'm not dead, hmm?" I asked. He just grinned and pushed me inside. I laughed when I saw everyone looking over at the doorway and straight at me. They all had the most dumbfounded looks on their faces. Soda got up from the couch smiling a big smile and he walked straight up to me, and boy, was he cuter than ever today!

"Where ya been, Willow? Dally's scared something awful." Soda said to me, his smile fading. I wish that wasn't the first thing he said to me. I had butterflies fluttering around in my stomach before, but now all their wings had been ripped off and they fell to the pit of my stomach by his statement.

"I knew he would be..." I started. "Well, my dad didn't take too kindly to the fact I missed dinner...which is his _bonding time _with us, and so I got grounded. It was way bigger than it should have been."

I think he could tell I was a little upset that it was straight to business, and not a _Nice to see you, Willow. _"It's good to see you're OK, I told Dal you would be." He smiled again.

"So confident are you?" I smiled back at him.

"Always." He replied.

"Awww, stop it with the love fest over here!" Two-Bit yelled, making Soda tackle him and hold him in a head lock. _Muscles too...this kid was incredible..." _I really had to shut my girlish thoughts off, I hardly knew him, and here I was mooning over him like all the girls I saw crowded around the DX everyday.

"Soda, I don't mean to break up brotherly love here, but I think I got to go show some elsewhere." I told him, walking over to the door. I wish I didn't have to leave, but I had to assure Dally that I was all right.

"You want me to go with you?" He asked, getting off of Two-Bit and straightening out his shirt.

"If you want to." I responded with a smile, and going through the door. Together, we headed over to Dally's. That's when Soda and I began talking.

"I can't help but notice that this is all happening so fast...I already feel like I'm one of you guys...even thought I'm not...but I already feel like family or something...it's hard to explain." I told him.

"I get it, we're all real close, and it's easy to feel at home...at least that's the kind of vibe I like to give off," He smiled at me. "I don't really care if it's all too fast, what's important is that you're getting to know your brother again, and that must be the best feeling ever, rushed or not." He said, staring at the ground as he talked.

"Exactly..." I replied, awestruck. It was almost like he knew what I was feeling. Rush or no rush, right then and there I felt Sodapop Curtis and I have a connection...I don't know what it is...but I know it's there, and I know it feels right.

"Here we are." He said, finally looking up from the ground. I knocked and waited for Dally, hoping it wouldn't be my real mother or father on the other end again. Hoping really doesn't help, sure enough it was her again. She looked worse than the other day, her red hair was thrown up in a sloppy hair tie, and she had even darker bags under her eyes.

"Oh, hi, Winona...you here to see Dallas?" She asked me with a smile that I'm sure was meant to be a warm one, but she just didn't have it in her. I felt my heart break as the sadness just consumed her voice...once I found mine, I replied. "Yeah, is he home?"

"Sure, go on up...but I'll warn you, he's in a bit of a bad mood..." She stopped when she saw Soda behind me. "Oh, hello there, handsome," She said, throwing him into a hug. "Hey Mrs. Winston, good to see you." He replied, returning the hug. "Soda, dear, I was wondering if I might have a word with you in the kitchen...Winona, you can go on up hon, Soda should be up in a minute."

I nodded, and headed up the stairs to Dally's room, but something caught my eye that I hadn't seen before. I stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked over at the wall. It was a family portrait of mom, dad, Dally and I at our old house on the porch steps back in New York. Mom and dad were standing behind us on the top step, Dally was sitting on the next step down and the step after, there I was, with Dally's arms thrown around me from behind. Absentmindedly, I brought my hand up and slid my fingers across it. I felt a few tears come out, and I quickly brushed them away with my other hand. My family...

I finally tore my eyes away from it and went to Dally's room. When I got to the door, I knocked..._no answer._ I tired again...but again, no answer. I finally gave up at a few attempts, and decided to try my luck at the knob..._it opened!_ I slowly opened the door and walked in...there Dally was...asleep...I walked slowly over to him and sat down on the bed next to him. I really didn't want to wake him up...but I felt like he needed to know I was all right.

"Dallas...Dally..." I began nudging him. He grunted and rolled over for a second, but then he sprang up. His gaze met mine a second, but then he pulled me into a tight hug, that I returned. We hugged for a few minuted but then Dally broke away. "So...where were you?" He asked accusingly.

"Sorry Dal, but Dad--Jeffrey...didn't like the fact that I came home so late...and I got grounded for two weeks." I explained, and he finally smiled.

"Over dinner, huh?" He asked. I nodded. "That's bullshit..." He laughed, lighting up a cigarette. I smiled and laughed a little too. "Yeah, I don't think you noticed...but he's a bit psycho." I joked. I got him to laugh again which made me feel great.

Soda finally came up after a while and seemed a little shaken up, but OK. "You all right Soda?" I asked.

He looked up at me and smiled, "Of course..." He replied. Finally I got an idea.

"You guys want to go see a movie tonight?" I asked. That way I could at least stick to half of my plan, and I could time it all out just right.

"That sounds fun, huh, Dal?" Soda said, waiting for Dally to reply.

"Sounds tuff...let's get the gang and let's go." He replied.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soon there we all were, Soda, Dally, Two-Bit, Ponyboy, Steve, Johnny, and I on our way to the drive-in. Darry was at work, even thought it was near 7 o'clock at night and he _still_ wasn't home! We all walked, which was a bit new for me. I was used to riding around in mustangs and making a huge entrance when I got there, but boy, was I surprised when we got there!

"Guys...the entrance is that way..." I pointed to my right, but they were all heading left.

"We know a short cut." Johnny said, grabbing my hand and pulling me along with them. I noticed that we were going around to the side and I could see the screens coming into view.

"Where are we going, exactly?" I asked, confused. Finally it all made since when I saw a gap at the bottom of the fence. "Ohhhh, all right..." I laughed, and joined them, sneaking under the fence. It was a lot more fun than paying anyhow. When we got to the other side, we made our way towards the seats set in front of the screen. Once we found some spots, I decided that I wanted some popcorn and coke. "Hey, anyone want some popcorn or some cokes? I got tons of money!" I offered. Everyone agreed, and Soda got up and went with me.

"This all feels so great...being here...and it all feels so...right." I said happily, walking into the concession building. "I'll bet." He replied. Before we got into the line, I heard something that made me want to drop dead right where I was standing.

"Willow honey, thank goodness we found you! We thought a movie didn't sound half bad so we thought we'd meet up with you and Melanie!" I turned and there was _my "dad", my "mom", and Cherry_ standing right behind me.

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Haha! I'm at it again! Evil Cliffy:D So, lots of talking again, but I feel like it's actually starting to go somewhere. So, I'm hoping more people will review I'm hoping so hard that you will! Please!!! Hope you all liked it, review so I can put an end to this evil cliffy!!!**

**-Casey 3**


	14. Unbelievable Prejudice

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton does. I do however, own Willow and all the characters you don't see in the book or the movie.**

**Author Note: Ok, so I'm a little late in the updating process here, sorry:( Fortunately, it hasn't been terribly long! I was so happy to see all the new reviews! Thanks so much! It seems like I haven't been abandoned and you guys are extremely patient. I'm very grateful. :)**

**-Casey**

_Reviewers:_

_STROKESprincess_ - I'll admit, I'm quite the jerk. :) I just _had _to leave it there lol. But no worries! A new chapter!!!

_lil'missvixin__ - _You're darn right Soda's hot! lol. I'm so glad that you like it!!!

_M.M. Baartman_ - Yeah, I totally said that Soda's eyes were blue because I was giving a Rob Lowe description because I didn't have a book off hand, so I had to go by movie descriptions. :( I'm glad that you liked my cliffhangers. :D lol. I'm a sucker for the happy endings as well. ;)

_SisterCat144_ - Your waiting is over, here comes chapter 14:)

_NewGirlOnTheBlock_ - At first I thought that I would have just Cherry show up, but I thought it would be a heck of a lot funnier to have her parents show up too:P

_bailey92192_ - Here's more to ease your mind! Thanks for the review!!!

_leanne_ - Thank you so much! I'm glad that you like it!!!

**Chapter 14. "Unbelievable Prejudice."**

**Willow's POV**

Oh, great! Well, why didn't the whole world just show up?! What was I going to do?! There stood my mom, dad, Cherry and Bob! I couldn't just run away, they had already seen me. I didn't know how I was going to get out of this, so I started out strong...or what I hoped was.

"Oh, hi!" I called. OK, I take that back...strong, yeah right.

My dad cleared his throat waiting for me to introduce Soda. Oh lord, how was I possibly going to do this?

"Dad, this is Sodapop Curtis, Soda, this is my mom, my dad, and my sister, Cherry." I introduced. I could see them all narrow their eyes in disapproval at the name, but my dad being the _oh-so great man _that he was, exchanged pleasantries.

My dad shook Soda's hand with a raised eyebrow. He gave me a dark look of disapproval, I then attempted to gulp down the knot that was forming in my throat.

It seemed like they were all waiting for me to explain how I knew him, of course he wasn't from our neighborhood. Well, _their _neighborhood...

"Soda works at the DX down the street...he helped Melanie and I out a lot the other day...and we just ran into each other! Melanie is with Daniel, so Soda told me he'd escort me to go get some popcorn for us." I lied. I hoped right now that I was the world's greatest liar. They seemed to buy it..._for now._

"Nice to meet you..._Sodapop_." My mother said, painfully.

Cherry smiled, and my dad just...nodded.

"So, were you going to get your popcorn? We can go meet Mel--" I cut Cherry off.

"Actually...would you guys mind getting it? I have to go to the bathroom and I'd hate to keep Melanie and Daniel waiting! Thanks!" I exclaimed, and ran off towards the bathrooms, where thankfully, there were pay phones. I guess Soda excused himself too, because he was right behind me when I began to dial Melanie's number.

It rang for a while but like an answer to my prayers, Melanie picked up.

"Hello?"

"Mel, thank God I reached you!"

"What's up, Will?" She asked, concerned.

"Listen, do you remember when I told you that I made up and excuse to go to the movies with you so I could sneak out with a guy?" I rambled.

"Um...yeah..." She replied.

"Well, my family showed up!!!"

"No!"

"Can you and Daniel please, please, please get here?! I swear on whatever you want that I'll repay you!" I promised.

"I suppose...but Daniel can't come...he had to go out with his family..."

"That's fine, as long as you show up, I'm fine! Meet me in the bathroom, OK?"

"All right Will, I'll be there in about 10 minutes..."

We hung up and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I hugged Soda in triumph. "I actually think I'll be able to make it through tonight. Damn, why did they have to show up _tonight _of all nights?!"

"Fate, it sucks." Soda agreed, and smiled.

"What're we going to tell the guys? When we go back out there they're going to wonder why I'm ignoring them. Oh God...they cannot, shout my name! They have to pretend they don't know me!!!" I began to panic.

"Willow, relax. You go into the bathroom and wait for your friend, I'll go back out there and tell them what happened. All you have to do is ignore us." He said, calmly grabbing onto my shoulders. I stared up into his eyes wanting so badly to kiss him. Now wasn't the time, and he didn't even know I liked him! I couldn't just kiss him...

"Thanks Soda, you truly saved my life, thank you!!" I said to him, giving him a big hug, and then dashing into the bathroom to wait for Melanie.

After what seemed like an eternity, the door swung open, revealing Melanie.

"Thank you so much, Mel!" I shouted, hugging her.

"It's fine Will, just no more using me in your little date tricks." She laughed.

"Deal." I agreed, and we walked out to the movie together.

We soon found my parents, Cherry, and Bob looking less than happy sitting right behind the gang. Soda smiled at me as I sat down, but then he turned around and ignored me. Melanie looked at me, curious about who my date was, but when she saw Soda smile at me, she gave me a totally shocked look, which she had to hide when my mother began talking to her.

"Hello Melanie dear, where's Daniel?" She inquired.

"Daniel was being a jerk, and he left." She offered, simply. We really didn't discuss the game plan.

"Remember hon, don't stay in a relationship if it offers problems." She said, wisely.

"I won't, Mrs. Valance." She responded.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We finally broke apart from them when the movie ended. Melanie and I decided to go out and get some ice cream. It was a good excuse to get away and talk about what happened. When we got to Dairy Queen and ordered what we want from the drive through, Melanie parked the car and turned to me.

"The guy from the DX, huh?" She asked me.

I licked my ice cream cone and nodded. "Yeah...only, we weren't really on a date. It was just two friends going to a movie...but my parents couldn't know that."

"Willow," She began seriously. "You know that he's a...a..._greaser_."

I cringed at the way she said it, thankfully she didn't notice.

"Yes." I replied, trying to shrug it off.

"Well, I don't blame your parents if they freaked out on you. Cute or not, he's one of _them_."

I was starting to hold onto my cone tightly and it began to crack and drip onto my hand.

"Will, your cone..." She pointed out. I rolled my eyes and pulled out some napkins from her glove compartment.

"Sorry..." I said, wiping it up.

"Will, you understand what I'm saying, right? It's not really safe to be hanging around with _their kind._"

Finally I threw my cone out the window and turned on her.

"Melanie. I would really appreciate it if you would stop referring to them that way, OK?" I said, angrily.

She swung her medium length brown hair over her shoulder and gave me a look. "Willow, are you like...for greaser's rights or something now? Over _one _guy?" She asked me.

I sighed, and spoke again. "I've been giving it some thought. Please tell me that you know that prejudice is wrong."

She gave me a very confused look. "Will, prejudice _is _wrong, but the way that the soc's and greasers work...it's just how it is..."

"But is it right, Melanie?" I asked her, seriously.

"I'm sorry, Will, but I don't really see where you're going here..."

"Just take me home, Mel." I said, dropping the conversation.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Bad news on Melanie's part, huh? I hope it showed all the prejudice in here about how the Soc's are really thick headed lol. Poor Melanie just couldn't understand. I hope it didn't bore you to death because of all the talking! Anyways, hope you guys like it!!! Review:)**

**-Casey**


	15. Love In The Air

Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders, S. E Hinton does. I do however, own Willow and all the characters you don't see in the book or movie.

**AUTHOR NOTE:**

**Ahh, guys! I'm so sorry, I wanted to let you know that I haven't abandoned you, I just started school again and things are hectic all over the place!!! I'm sorry I didn't post enough over the summer, but here's a new chapter to make everyone smile!**

**-Casey**

**Reviewers:**

Will.Scarlett – _I'm so glad that you thought it was believable, that was the idea I was looking for:D_

edwards other bella – _Sorry to leave you hanging for so long, but here's an update, finally! _

UrnotSethCohen – _Yeah, we do have trouble in Soc land now don't we? Lol. Thanks for still being faithful, I don't know what I'd do without you!_

STROKESprincess – _Yeah, it was all OK at first, but we know that it couldn't ALL work out right? Lol. Or at least, not in my story lol, I never let things work out, but I'm sure it will soon. Thanks for remaining a faithful reviewer!!! _

SisterCat144 – _If suspense could kill, I would be a serial killer now wouldn't I? I'm sorry to leave you hanging for so long, but here's another chapter to ease your mind, lol. :D _

outsiders-chicka – _Melanie is a good friend, but you know, she just isn't very open minded when it comes to the Greasers. We'll have more Melanie in the future. I'm so glad you love it! It makes me so happy to hear that._

xyour momx – _I'm so glad you love it, and Dally! Dally sure is a cutie. Prejudice people are terrible, and I hope I demonstrated that:D Thanks for reviewing and liking the story, it means so much!!!_

_**Big hugs to all of my reviewers, you're all amazing!!! I love you guys!!!**_

**Chapter 15. "Love In The Air."**

Willow's POV 

It's almost amazing to me that I got out of the movies situation…however, Melanie and I aren't really talking much lately…and of course I knew why. I lay on my bed staring up at the ceiling; it was raining…what a nice day to fit the mood, huh? A crash of lightning broke me away from my thoughts. Today was Saturday, a day I could go and see Dally…and I really ought to, I haven't seen any of the guys since the movies.

I sat up and stretched. Walking passed the mirror, I did a double take; my hair was everywhere! I snatched up the brush and ran it through my hair. When I was convinced that it looked decent enough for show, I headed downstairs. Cherry was out with Bob, maybe, and mom and dad were out grocery shopping.

I seized my chance and walked down towards the Curtis house. On my way, I tried not to be detected until I got out of our neighborhood. I always took a lot of chances by sneaking over to the South side of town. I was seriously praying that no rowdy Greasers decided to have a little fun with me. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Greasers, but since I was dressed like a Soc, there was nothing that would stop them from giving me a hard time. If they waltzed over to our side, I sure as hell know that we wouldn't be playing a game of poker together that's for sure.

I finally stopped holding my breath when my eyes were fixed on the Curtis house. I walked up the steps and knocked. Ponyboy answered.

"Hey, Willow! Where ya been?" He asked me, opening the door to let me walk in past him.

"Well Ponyboy," I began. "I've just been trying to find a way to sneak back over here." I smiled, giving him a kiss on the forehead and made my way to the kitchen. Soda was in there making some kind of a green science experiment.

"What's that you're making Soda?" I asked, coming up behind him and observing the concoction in the bowl.

"Spaghetti." He responded, in his happy-go-lucky tone.

"Spaghetti?" I was appalled. "Isn't spaghetti supposed to be…well, red?"

"Not if you live here. I like to dye all the food I make. It's my…hidden talent." He smiled devilishly.

My insides fluttered every time he smiled. That boy had one of the most charming smiles I'd ever seen. I didn't think I could recover if he kept showing me his pearly whites all day. I walked slowly to him to observe more closely.

"Afternoon all." Darry called as he entered the kitchen.

"It's more like evening, Dar." Soda replied with a smirk.

"Watch it there, little buddy or you and my fist will be havin' a good long chat." He threatened jokingly.

"Darry, the day you beat me up is the day that a ship hits an ice berg!" Soda laughed, under the impression that that could never happen.

"Sodapop…" Darry tried to hold back his laughter. "That did happen. The Titanic, remember?" He asked, letting out a chocked laugh with every word.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that I read that once…well, damn." Soda responded, defeated.

These guys were priceless. "Soda, have you seen Dally?" I asked him, twirling my hair a little bit.

"Dal? Um, last time I saw him was at the party last night."

"Do you think he's at home?" I asked.

"I wouldn't bet on it, but you could give it a shot…but hey, wait! Aren't you going to stay for some of my masterpiece?" He asked, holding up the bowl with the science experiment he called food.

"No thanks Soda," I laughed. "I'm sure it's the most delicious…whatever it is."

He shook off my remark and called the guys in for dinner.

Even though that spaghetti looked really disgusting, I fell in love with Sodapop even more right then. Not only was he cute as hell, he had the most fun and adventurous personality of anyone I'd ever met.

I walked to the door and was just about to open it when Soda came running up to catch me. "Willow, hey, I was wondering...if you're free tomorrow, could you meet me at the Dingo...say 7? I have something to tell you."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

_It's short, I know. I just wanted to post a little to give you guys at least something. I should have more coming soon!_

**_Please review!_**

**_-Casey_**


	16. The Answer

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders, S.E Hinton does. I do however, own Willow and all the characters you don't see in the book or movie. **

**Author Note:**

**Well, it certainly has been quite some time since I updated...it's almost unbelievable. I've just been so terribly busy. I suppose, since it's Christmas, now would be as good of a time as ever to post some more! I'm really sorry that I abandoned this story, but I'm going to work hard to dust the cob webs off of it. :D**

**Hope you're all going to have a great Christmas! **

**-Casey**

_Reviews: _

dreamer 3097 - - That I shall:)

UrnotSethCohen - You shall find out in this chapter. :D

Pretty-in-Pink-girl - I'm quite the queen of the evil cliffys. I'm glad you like it!

edwards other bella - Thanks for the corrections, sometimes I mess up on small details like that. ;) Thanks for reviewing!

The Akemi Queen Of Sakia - Thank you so much!

**Reviewers, you're so amazing, and I don't know what I'd do without you!**

**Chapter 16. "The Answer"**

**Willow's POV**

I sat at the table chewing my finger nails. It was precisely 2 minutes and 10 seconds until 7:00. I was so nervous that I didn't even notice I was gnawing at my nails. I dropped my hand down on to the table and examined the damage. Yeah, mom was going to be pretty pissed off. I tried my best to file them so they would be smooth again...it worked, they were just very short. I didn't understand this nervousness, I've been on dates plenty of times! Well, Soda didn't call this a date, he just asked me to meet him here...I grabbed my glass of water on the table and sipped at it, and then...

"Hey, Will."

I nearly choked to death.

"Jeez Soda, warn me when you're going to pop up like that! You scared the living daylights out of me!" I exclaimed, mopping up some water I choked on. Soda just suddenly appeared without any warning at all, but dear lord, did he look good! His hair was greased just the right way, his shirt was clean as ever, and he smelled heavenly.

"You look nice." He complimented me, sitting down. I glanced down at my clothes. I was wearing a navy blue dress with sparkles on it, it showed off my chest pretty well I must say. I also took the front parts of my hair and clasped them back with a barrette. I didn't know if this was a date or not and I wanted to look my best.

"Thanks, I didn't know what to expect, so I just decided to look as good as I could, I guess..." I responded nervously. I grabbed the cup and sipped the water again.

"You look awfully content with that water there, but would you like a coke?" He asked me with a smile.

I completely melted when he smiled. I just smiled back and nodded.

When the waitress came, Soda ordered two cokes, but what I wasn't expecting was when he ordered ice cream for us.

"Are you sure Soda? I mean, I don't need anything..." I tried to object, but he cut me off with a grin. "I asked you out here, and I'm buying you ice cream, a lovely lady like you sure deserves it." He responded with a wink. I nearly died.

When the waitress left, we shared a moment of silence. It was quite awkward, but I really didn't know what to say. After a few minutes of silence and playing with my napkin, I decided to work up the courage and ask.

"Soda, why is it that you asked me here...out of curiosity." I asked.

He looked up at me and leaned in closer so that our faces were close to touching. "I have a surprise, and I can't tell you what it is just yet. Enjoy the ice cream, and _then_ I'll tell you the surprise."

I did as instructed. The ice cream was delicious. I don't drink cokes and eat ice cream too often, but what made it better was having Soda sitting right across from me. When we were done, I grabbed my jacket from the back of my chair and hurried behind Soda after he paid.

I wrapped my arms around myself as we walked, it was a pretty cold night, it was the beginning of winter. He glanced over at me, concerned. "Cold?" He asked.

"Oh, don't worry about me, I'm fine." I responded with a smile.

Soda is a gentleman, hands down. With no hesitation, he whipped off his jacket and gently placed it around me. "Soda...what about you--?" I began, but he placed a finger to my lips. "Not a word." He smiled.

This was so weird, I had no idea where he was taking me. Not long after did I realize that we were standing at the entrance to the park. I followed with no questions, but soon the most amazing thing came into view.

A blanket was set up right by the pond with another blanket and a container of hot chocolate.

"Soda...how did you...?" I began but he silenced me again.

"Darry and Dally thought they'd be able to help me out." He responded, pulling me over to the blanket. I sat down beside him, trying not to look completely girly and googly eyed. Darry and Dally...help him with what I wonder?

"So, do you want to tell me what this is all about?" I asked, hoping this time I would get an answer.

"Yeah, it's about time that I gave you an answer." He replied, throwing the blanket over us and pouring the hot chocolate into some cups. He passed one to me, took a deep breath, and began.

"Willow, I probably went about all of this the wrong way...I mean, people think I'm pretty smooth all of the time...when it comes to women...I guess it could be true...except..." He took a sip of hot chocolate. "Will, you're the one girl who makes me feel different...I've never had any girl make me feel the way that you do. It may be too soon to say, but I really like you. I understand that we don't know too much about each other...but what I was gonna ask was..." He trailed off.

My stomach began to flutter. "Yes...?" I asked, urging him to finish.

"Was...if you'd be willing to give me a chance...to find out...to try and see if it would work...will you?" He asked.

Seeing Sodapop Curtis, captain of wooing all women, getting nervous was the most astonishing thing I had ever seen. My heart was leaping with joy, my fingers felt numb. How could he feel the same way that I did? I never in a million years thought he'd feel the same way that I did about him. Feeling like I was on top of the world, I decided not to give Soda an answer, instead, I leaped, throwing my arms around him, tackling him to the ground, and embracing him in a kiss. He returned the kiss, and what a kiss it was.

It felt like magic flowing through our lips. I'd heard from girls at school, of course, greaser girls that I didn't know, that Sodapop Curtis was the best kisser they'd ever come into contact with. I'll tell you now, they were no where near wrong.

He rolled over so that he was on top, kissing me innocently, but with the most passion I'd ever felt. After a few minutes, we broke apart, and stared into each others eyes.

"Can I consider that a yes?" Soda asked with a smile.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Haha ok guys, I decided it was about time for some Willow and Soda romance! It may have moved a little fast, but I decided that it was time. These days, it doesn't take very long to get to this stage, does it? lol. Well, for me it does, but that's besides the point. :D I hope you all enjoyed it, a little romance around Christmas time doesn't hurt does it? lol. Anyways, review, and I shall be forever greatful!**

**-Casey**


	17. Approval

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders, S.E Hinton does. I do however, own Willow and all the characters you don't see in the book or movie. **

**Author Note: Wow! That's all I can really fathom to say is wow! I haven't updated in over a year, and yet I still have many faithful reviewers. Seriously, you guys are way too kind. I did something I cannot stand that writers do: I abandoned the story. I don't know what came over me, but from what I can see, it wasn't the wisest decision I could've came up with, andf for that I apologize. Thank you to the many who have been sticking with me for the past year. You're way too incredible for words. Now I'll go on to what you really want. Chapter 17. ^.^**

**-Casey**

_Reviewers:_

edwards other bella – I'm glad they finally got together, too. Thanks for the review!

lalajonas – Aw, I'm so glad that you like it!

NINA SOCCER GIRL – Man, I must have ruined your Christmas for sure! Lol. I haven't updated in so long. Thanks for the review!

Samuel B's Girl – I'm glad you love the story, as for the question: I'm evil and I say, "We'll have to wait and see!" =D

lily-james-jon-alanna – Thanks!

NarutoAndBleach – Wow, thanks! I'm glad you think so! I think pigs are quite cute, actually. ^_^

Katrina Tora – Wow, you are my legendary 100th reviewer! For that, you own a special place in my heart. =D

yolksie – Your wish is my command.

My-Arabian-Knight – Well, you're the one who ultimately made my decision for me. I've been getting all of these reviews, but finally you made me realize that I _must_ update. ^_^ Thank you very much.

**Chapter 17. "Approval"  
**

**Soda's POV**

She said yes! I couldn't believe it. I felt as if I was walking on clouds. I smiled my signature grin, and took her hand in my own. Here we sat, under the stars, me: the luckiest man in the world, and she: the loveliest woman I had ever met.

**Willow's POV**

Here I was, lying under the stars with the most gorgeous boy I had ever set my eyes on. We were finally official. My heart felt like melted butter, and my whole body felt like it was made up of jell-o. This couldn't be healthy, that's for sure.

"What're you thinking about right now, Soda?" I asked, brushing my fingers that weren't clasped in his other hand, gently against his arm.

I'm just thinking of how lucky I am," He smiled. "Being with you means nothing but the world to me, Willow."

With that, he wrapped both of his arms around my neck and kissed me. I felt electricity run through my veins. Who knew a kiss could feel so amazing? Randy's kisses didn't even remotely compare to this. Soda was an expert at this that much was obvious. The way that his lips maneuvered with mine was pure bliss. I felt his tongue against my lips, begging for entrance. I parted my lips as a gesture of acceptance, and the result was pure magic. Nothing about this felt wrong. How could I have lived so long without Soda by my side? After what only seemed like seconds, we broke apart, panting for air.

Although we were no longer connected at the lips, the way that he stared into my eyes still carried the magic of the moment. Soda was such a gentleman. Even as an upperclassman, I'd normally catch Randy staring at my body rather than into my eyes. I have never once caught Soda's eyes straying. I went in for another kiss, but was interrupted by loud clapping and cheering. What in the--?

I turned around to see all of the gang cheering and applauding right next to our blanket. How on earth did they sneak up on us like that? Well, I suppose I was so focused on Soda, I tuned the rest of the world out.

"Congratulations, Fizz-boy! You finally got a keeper!" I heard Two-Bit shout above the rest of the noise.

I felt my cheeks burn in embarrassment, which Soda chuckled at. He softly cupped my burning cheek, and gave me a nice tender kiss on the lips, in front of everyone. That just made the encouragement even more out of control.

"All right, all right, that's enough out of you lot." I heard a commanding voice boom. That must mean Darry was here.

Sure enough, the crowd parted and let Soda's hunk of a brother through. His signature frown of concentration was nowhere to be found on his face. His lips were turned into a genuine smile; one that I'm sure was reserved for Soda alone. He kneeled down next to Soda and I, and clapped Soda on the shoulder.

"Sorry, little buddy, Two-Bit decided to tell everyone where you two were meeting tonight, and even _I_ wasn't strong enough to stop everyone."

"That's alright Dar, hey, it saves us from having to share the story later."

"Well, I guess we'll _all_ be going now, won't we?" Darry announced, dismissing everyone.

Groans of disappointment erupted, Two-Bit especially.

"Aw, c'mon, spoil-sport! I managed to get everyone down here to see a real-life chick flick for free, and you wanna cut early?"

"Yeah, you inconsiderate bum, that's exactly what I want each and every one of you to do." Darry joked, grabbing Two-Bit by the ear and leading them away.

As soon as the park was clear of all spying eyes, Soda and I went right back to our staring contest.

"Well, I suppose we got approval from everyone." I giggled.

Soda was about to say something, but a deep voice cut him off before he even uttered a sound.

"_Well, not everyone." _

I whipped around again to see Dally standing with a stern look on his face, and in the middle of putting out a cigarette.

"Hey there, Dal." Soda grinned.

Dally smirked at him, and copied Darry exactly, by kneeling down beside us.

"I don't want to get too sentimental here, but remember that this is my kid sister, Curtis." Dally warned.

I felt the blush creeping up on my cheeks again. It was certainly a good thing that I didn't plan to take Soda home to Jeffrey. Wouldn't that be the ultimate experience? Dad throwing an enormous fit and trying to get Soda sentenced to death…oh yeah, that'd be fun for the whole family.

"Don't worry Dal, you know me, I'll be every bit of respectful."

"He already is, Dal." I chimed in, finally finding my voice.

Dally surprised me by giving me a wide smile. "I know that, kid. I'm just messing with him. If there is one boy I ain't gotta worry about, it's Sodapop Curtis. The boy is so damn respectful; he might as well be a woman."

"I'll take that as a compliment, I guess?" Soda teased.

"You sure as hell will, if you know what's good for ya!"

I rolled my eyes at the guys, but couldn't help but let out a snicker.

"You guys…"

"Alright, I suppose I'll leave you alone now…I ain't gotta worry about anything inappropriate happening, at least not while he's involved…" Dally took a stab at Soda one more time, while taking his leave.

"Good night, Dal." Soda said, as if he could see Dal through my eyes, because he broke all eye contact with Dally.

"Yeah, yeah…" I heard Dal's voice carrying from far away.

When I was sure that Dally was gone, I grinned at Soda and spoke up again.

"OK, I guess _now _we have everyone's approval."

"And I'm thinking that you're right."

With that, Soda kissed me again, with more passion than I could ever have dreamed. No more interruptions, it was just Soda and I. Nothing else in the world existed but him and I. Our arms locked around each other, and nothing could pry them away. Life was good, and nothing could bring me down, I was certain of it. I guess that's why they tell you never to speak too soon.

The dark park was soon illuminated with too large, bright lights. _Headlights._

"Willow Valance, you are in _so_ much trouble."

Jeffrey! I felt my stomach clench, my heart began to race, we were caught, it was over.

Luckily, his voice was still a little ways away, and hopefully he hadn't seen us yet.

"Soda, it's Jeffrey!" I hissed.

He realized the situation immediately. We scrambled up, leaving all of the picnic stuff behind, and made a dash for the nearest hiding place.

"Willow, if you're here, you better expect to be grounded for the next decade!"

I didn't deny the threat in his voice. He was fuming, and was honest to God serious. He never uttered a threat that he didn't mean.

We found the nearest bush and jumped behind it. If he found us, I didn't know what I'd do. He'd make sure that the two of us were kept apart, but not before he killed Soda thoroughly. We couldn't be caught. We just _couldn't_!

**Hey, there we are, Chapter 17! Took long enough right? I had to end it this way to give it a little bit of flavor…it was just **_**too sweet**_**, you know? We couldn't have that. =D Lol. Anyways, hopefully I gave you guys something to look forward to. Also, hopefully I didn't lose my touch too much. Coming back into the story was a challenge. I had to read over my work again and everything. Sometime I'm going to have to go through the chapters and edit some mistakes I made in there.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I finally updated! Yay! Sorry again for abandoning the story. _ If you could find it in your heart to review, that'd be much appreciated! Thanks again, guys!**

**-Casey**


	18. Fear

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders, S.E Hinton does. I do however, own Willow and all the characters you don't see in the book or movie. **

**Author Note: 2 years. Wow. It seems like just yesterday I updated this story. Just recently it struck my attention again...due to some favorites and a message from Twilight90202. =) I'm on all the time, and it's sad that I have neglected this story the way that I have. this chapter I'm going to post is to see if I still have it or not. It's taken some work to get back into the story, and hopefully, I still have some neat ideas. Thanks for hanging in there with me, guys. This chapter's for you! **

**Also, on a separate note, this chapter contains abuse, if you are offended by abuse in any way, skip this chapter. If you would like to ask me for a brief synopsis of what this chapter contained, I'd be more than happy to give it to you. We're going to be taking a little journey into Willow's past with Jeffrey and more. **

**- Casey**

_Reviewers:_

Yolksie - Yep, Jeffrey is quite a jerk. Don't you wish that he'd just go away? Lol.

Jankz - C'mon, how could I _not_ include the gang? Lol. They had to be there! Glad you liked it!

taylorjeanjn - I'm so glad you like it! I'm also stoked to hear that the characters don't seem OOC. I do my best to stay true. ^.^ Yes, I do build some evil cliffies. Plus, I don't update for 2 years, making it WORSE! Lol.

Two-BitGortez - Glad to hear it!

witchbaby300 - Wow! Hooked from chapter 1? That's great news! Thanks for the nice words, they've helped me create this chapter. ;)

bubba - Thank you!

realawsome - Aww, thank you very much.

Twilight90202 - Thank you for your message, it was nice to hear that the story was still wanted. I owe this chapter to you.

**Chapter 18. Fear**

**Willow's POV**

"Willow, what exactly will your dad do if he finds us?" Soda's voice startled me from the three minute fear induced silence we had just suffered through.

I managed to steady my racing heart and found my voice.

"You want the truth?"

"Well, I think the situation calls for it."

Jeffrey was tearing through the park, flashlight blinding, breath deep and menacing. Soda and I stiffened when Jeffrey's flashlight flashed past the bush in which we were currently hiding for our lives in.

"Soda, if he finds us, you'll never see me again, let's just make that a guarantee. Did you see the way he looked at you when we were at the movies?" I didn't wait for Soda's response, "He looked at you as less than a piece of chewing gum stuck to his shoe..." I whispered, truthfully. It brought a stinging tear to my eye just thinking about being taken away from Soda forever after he and I had just declared it official.

"Well," Soda cleared his throat quietly, "Then, we _can't _let him find us. I won't let him."

I pulled Soda closer to me and buried my head into his chest. He smelled so good. A mix of some cheap cologne, shampoo, and the smallest hint of gasoline. The smell comforted me in the oddest way.

"WILLOW! Get out here now! Don't make me look further for you! You're only making this worse for yourself!" Jeffrey shouted.

The anger in his voice sent shivers up my spine. How in the hell was I going to get us out of this? Sitting here hiding wasn't going to be the answer, he was going to find us eventually if we didn't make a break for it.

"I called Melanie, and you know...she told me the most interesting thing, dearest daughter of mine."

My heart stopped. What the hell did Melanie tell him? I felt my palms begin to sweat. We were done for. I'd have to put 'KILL MELANIE' on my to-do list.

"She told me you might be with that DX gas station kid, and if you know what's good for you, and for him and his family, you'd better not be!" Jeffrey threatened. Malice in his voice I could detect, along with a hint of glee at going after Soda and his family.

I realized what I had to do.

"Soda, I gotta go to him."

Soda inhaled sharply and turned his head to face me. His eyes penetrating mine in a heartfelt gaze. I could practically hear his words in his eyes. They were clear. '_Willow, you can't.' _I had to ignore the pleading in his eyes. I couldn't risk his life and his family's life, either. Darry, who was trying to provide for his family, and little Ponyboy, who barely just got into high school. They were all they had left. I couldn't ruin that by being selfish.

"Willow, we can run, I can hide you, he won't ever find you. I promise, I'll take care of you. I realize it's too soon, but I can make it work, just let me get us out of this," Soda pleaded with me.

Tears had welled up in my eyes hearing this heart wrenching plea. I hadn't known Soda long, but I believed in every word he uttered. Soda was a great guy, any girl, Greaser or Soc would be lucky to win his affections. If things were different...if Jeffrey wasn't...

"Don't move. No matter what you hear or see, you stay put. I will not let you risk everything for me. Please just stay hidden and when the coast is clear, you _run_,"I whispered, wiping a tear away.

He almost stopped me, but I stood up too quickly, revealing myself to the world, and to Jeffrey. Soda's hand was wrapped in mine from when he had tried to stop me from standing up, just a little too late.

"Willow Marie Valance!"

Jeffrey had spotted me. His flashlight was held up to my face from a distance, but he was closing in. Hearing my full _fake_ name irritated me now. Willow Danielle Winston is what I wanted to hear now. My real name. I wonder sometimes why Jeffrey didn't change my first name, he felt the need to give me a new middle and last name, but left the first alone.

I silently hoped that Soda would listen and save himself and his family. I reluctantly pulled my hand from his and stepped forward. My heart was beating against me chest, and I felt like every limb of my body was frozen with each tiny step I took. I knew Jeffrey could be dangerous, especially if he had too much to drink.

I usually stayed out of his way, but I'd seen what he did to _mom_. When I had just turned eight, only a year after I had been taken from my family, Cherry and I were downstairs washing the dinner dishes, and Jeffrey was sitting at the kitchen table reading a paper and drinking his eighth or ninth beer since he had been home from work. She only tried to give him a kiss, and instead of returning the gesture, he stuck his fist in her face.

I had never tested his anger out of fear, but right now I was testing it in the biggest way. If by some miracle, he didn't find Soda, maybe it'd be better, but I wasn't expecting much. I'd seen first hand what he was capable of. He could take me from my family, instill the worst fear in me mentally, and maybe even hurt me physically. He hadn't done much to me growing up, he would spank me if I got any less than A's, if I talked back, or anything a normal kid would do that required punishment.

When I was about nine, I once tried talking to a Greaser girl at the store and asked if she wanted to come over and play. Jeffrey responded when he saw what I was doing. I tried to explain that I didn't know she was one of the _bad people, _but Jeffrey grabbed me by the arm roughly, took me outside, and smacked me so hard I saw spots in front of my eyes. It was the only time and I had learned to keep myself in line after that. I had done nothing this _dishonorable_ to him in a long time, and now that I was older, I hardly expected mercy.

It was odd, normally he seemed like he loved and cared about me, like when I was in the hospital, he had seemed so worried about me, almost like a real dad. He normally was, until I did anything he disapproved of, or when alcohol was involved. That's why he could never be a real father to me. He didn't love me past my flaws. He only loved me when I was being his doting, perfect little angel. The little carbon copy that he wanted me to be.

"About time you revealed yourself, you little harlot, now where is he?" Jeffrey growled as he got closer.

_Harlot_? Now that was new. He had to be the angriest I had seen him. He had never called me that before.

"_He?"_

I had to lie or this would never work.

"The Greaser kid, Willow, I know he's here. Who else could convince you to disobey me like this? Nothing but a filthy Greaser! Now..." He strode forward, grabbed me by the hair, and pulled my face close to his. I could smell the horrible stench of alcohol on his breath. "Where...is...he..." He finished, practically shaking in anger.

I gasped from the painful hold he had on my hair. I could feel some hair getting pulled clean out from my scalp.

"I came here with Randy..." I whimpered.

He didn't buy it, that was clear. He chuckled darkly, let go of my hair so suddenly he almost knocked me over, and stomped over toward the bush where Soda was. I held my breath.

"Where the hell is he? I know he's here!"

Thank God! Soda got away! I let out the air I was holding captive in my lungs. As long as Soda and his family were safe, I was relieved.

**Soda's POV**

I ran. Not from _Jeffrey_ but for help for Willow. I wouldn't let that asshole hurt her, if it was the last thing I did. Willow's probably breathing easier thinking that I left to save myself, but I could never do that. It was soon, but I cared for her as if I'd known her for years. She may be new relationship wise, but she also a friend, and Dally's little sister. As a Greaser, we look out for one another, and I will never let harm come to her.

I burst through the door to my house, causing nearly everyone in the house to look up in alarm. As usual, it was a full house.

"Hey buddy, where's the fire?" Darry chuckled, not really taking in my worried expression at first, but then he caught it.

"What's wrong, Curtis? My kid sister scare you that much already? Could've told you that she's a handful," Dally laughed, he was the only one who hadn't looked to the door when I practically ran it down.

"Willow's in trouble." I said, causing the smiles to fade from everyone's face.

"What's going on, Soda? Where's Willow?" Darry asked, grabbing me by the shoulders to stop me from shaking. I was already crying.

"We...we...were..." I tried to speak through my tears.

"Sit down buddy, calm down." Darry led me to the couch where Two-Bit got up from where he'd been sitting. His face was set into serious mode which was rare to see from Two-Bit.

"Curtis, where is my sister?" Dally asked, stepping in front of me, his expression set to kill.

"Jeffrey...he came to the park," I sniffed. "I don't know what he's going to do to her, but he might hurt her, Dal. We gotta stop him..."

Darry sighed. "We can't do anything about it right now, little buddy."

What the hell was he saying? Was he out of his goddamn mind? I stood up suddenly actually causing everyone to step back in shock.

"What the hell are you saying, Darry? Willow's in trouble! We have to help-"

"No, Sodapop. If you want our family to stick together, we can't do anything..."

Before I had time to interrupt, I heard Dally speak up.

"As much as it kills me to say it, kid, you can't do anything. Jeffrey Valance is the biggest asshole judge in town. Curly's still in the reformatory because of his verdict. He'd find a way to split your family up for good."

"He's a _judge_?" I was shocked. Wouldn't the court system throw him out if they knew he was responsible for Willow Winston's kidnapping?

"Yes, Curtis. A powerful one. You can't help Willow." Dally affirmed.

I was about to start yelling in protest again, but Dally wasn't finished.

"But, just because you can't, doesn't mean I can't."

**Willow's POV**

I was waiting up in my room. The seconds just racing by. Jeffrey was livid when he found no trace of Soda having been there. He was convinced he was and didn't buy my Randy alibi for a second. He had no evidence to back up his suspicion, so therefore, he was even more pissed.

He threw me in the car and drove us back home. It was the scariest car ride of my life, he was too drunk to be driving, plus he was angry, not a good combination. After hitting about three people, he finally got us home in one piece. He shut the car off, got out of the car, and was pulling me out of the car before I even had my hand on the handle.

He wrenched open the door of my house, and dragged me to the stairs. My mother came running out of the kitchen, worry etched on her face. Probably not too much for my sake. I wasn't her _real _daughter after all.

"Oh, you found her, where was she?"

"The park. I know she was with that Greaser kid. I just know it...but I can't prove it."

That sentence filled me with joy.

"Willow..." My mother began.

"Is going to get what's coming to her..." Jeffrey finished.

Now that sentence made my stomach drop.

"Jeffrey, don't be too hard on her, she's only..."

"Sixteen, yes. She's old enough to know right from wrong."

"Willow was wrong for lying about where she was going, Jeffrey, but this is a little extreme."

"She knows, Jenna. She knows not to associate herself with that _filth_."

"What are you going to do, Jeffrey?" Jenna's voice grew soft. Was that worry in her eyes? That was confusing. I mean, Jenna's nice and all, but she never showed me this much concern.

"I think this little girl's earned herself some time with the belt, wouldn't you say?"

Jenna gasped. "No, Jeffrey. Don't. She's your daughter, sure she makes mistakes, but," She stepped forward and placed a hand on his arm. "Just remember when you held her after she was born? Wasn't that the best moment of your life? After she was born, didn't you promise yourself that you wouldn't let any harm come to your child? Why would you want to hurt something you made a promise to? I've never laid a hand on Sherry, because I made that promise."

So, Jenna didn't know the whole story...after all these years...she believed a lie. Jeffrey didn't hold me when I was born, he didn't make any such promises to me.

"I promised _myself_ that I would raise her to be the best she could be, and right now," He turned to me. "She isn't."

I could tell she struck a nerve in him. He was angry that he didn't take me when I was younger, so young that I had no memories of my real life. I almost expected him to hit her, but he didn't. He couldn't reveal the truth about me to her. He wouldn't.

"Jeffrey, don't do something you'll regret..."

"Jenna, I'm just teaching her. She needs to learn that life is about being the best you can be. And slutting around with Greasers isn't the way to go!"

"But I didn't-" I began. His grip on my arm got impossibly tight.

"And lying to my face isn't helping, Willow Marie!"

Now here I was, waiting for Jeffrey to return with the belt. He had never hit me with one, but I could imagine it wasn't going to pleasant.

My thoughts were interrupted by the door opening abruptly.

"Willow Marie Valance, you're about to get what's coming to you."

Fear doesn't begin to cover it.

**There you have it guys, chapter 18! I hope it was satisfactory. I may be a bit rusty. =/ So tell me, is it still going all right? Or should I just put it to rest? I have some new ideas upon writing this chapter, but you tell me how you like it. Then maybe we can put some of those ideas to use! **

**Please review if you can find it in your hearts and let me know what you think!**

**- Casey**


	19. Risk

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders, S.E Hinton does. I do however, own Willow and all the characters you don't see in the book or movie. **

**Author Note: I'm glad to hear you guys are still enjoying the story, even though it took so long to get an update out of me. Lol. Thanks for all the reviews, they made me feel inspired. So, why not another chapter, hmm? **

**Also, more abuse contained in this chapter as well, same as last time, if you're uncomfortable, just let me know, and I'll catch you up. ;)**

**-Casey**

_Reviewers:_

DracoMalfoy4Ever - Done. ;)

Twilight90202 - Yes, ma'am! Lol. Won't put it to rest again. Lol.

Dally's Little Girl - I'm really working to bring out Dally's sweet side. I'm glad you're enjoying it. =) I have an older brother who is my best friend in the entire world. I'd do anything for him, so I guess I try to bring a little of that sibling bond he and I have to this story. ^.^

GreaserGirl285 - Workin' on it. =)

Two-Bit baby - Now that you mention it...I actually haven't included much of the Johnny/Dally relationship...lol, I didn't even realize. But yeah, I wanted to have him care about someone other than Johnny, cuz we all know, there is a soft side to Dallas Winston. ;)

randomgirl101 - Yes, I do plan to finish this story. It's been far too long between updates, and I abandoned the story for no good reason. =( I'm glad that you still remain faithful to it even after a year! Thank you for standing by the story. ^.^

**Chapter 19. "Risk"**

**Willow's POV**

It hurt. I couldn't imagine anymore pain than this. He made his point...why won't he stop? Can't he see I'm crying?

"Had enough, _dearest daughter_?"

Was he blind? Of course I had enough! He'd been whipping me with that belt for over 10 minutes...I couldn't take anymore.

"Y-yes..." I whimpered in reply.

I was bent over my bed, my shirt tear soaked, my hair a mess, and my dignity no where to be seen. I'm sure Jenna and Cherry were downstairs freaking out from my loud screams. I had tried to hold it in for the first 15 strokes with the belt, but after that, I couldn't take it anymore. I screamed...and kept on screaming until my throat was hoarse.

"No, I don't agree, I think you could use more, don't _you_ agree, my _sweet angel_?" Jeffrey hissed the last part in total sarcasm, while he stroked my hair in what should have been a loving gesture, but instead, it contained the anger and resentment of a very sad and drunk man who didn't get his way for once.

"No, please," I pleaded. "No more, I-I've had enough...I've learned my lesson..."

I was met with another lash from the belt. It stung my already sore backside so intensely that I again, screamed out in pain. I felt fresh tears begin to fall, I had almost no voice left at all. I felt drained and weak. It was a miracle I stayed standing this long. My legs felt like jell-o and I knew that anymore lashes and I'd lose all sense of balance.

"_I _will tell _you_ when you have learned your lesson, Willow Marie!"

I sniffed and nodded silently. I didn't know what else to say or do. I couldn't win. I was terrified and no one was helping me...not that I expected much rescue. Soda had saved himself, and that's what I truly wanted.

Another lash had me only whimper in pain. If I had the strength and voice for it, I would have screamed more, but I was soundly beaten. I could hardly make a sound. Another lash came, and another, and another, and another...

That was it, I lost all sense of control over my legs, and fell to the floor in a heap at Jeffrey's feet.

"Please, no more." I whispered.

Jeffrey answered my plea by simply turning me around on the floor and bringing the belt down again.

"Willow, you've been ungrateful, spoiled, and downright disrespectful to me, you know this is what you deserve!"

"Yes, I do deserve it..." I almost didn't hear myself say it, but the words came out loud enough for Jeffrey to hear.

"What was that?" Jeffrey halted on bringing the belt down once again to hear me speak.

"I said," I tried to speak louder, but all that came out was a weak croak. "I do deserve it, and I'm sorry. I've disrespected you, I'm so sorry daddy, but please...no...more..."

Jeffrey was silent. I couldn't muster the strength to turn back around to observe his expression. The silence was deafening, all that was heard were my sniffles and the sound of my hand brushing my tears away.

"Will, I'm sorry..."

Now that I hadn't been expecting...leave it to the drunk man to have swift mood changes.

"Wha-" I had begun to question, but in a second he spoke again.

"But, you do deserve every bit of what I gave you. You've been very neglectful of my feelings, and as your father, I refuse to put up with it. It seems you've had enough of the belt..._for tonight_,"

My heart dropped at those words.

"You'll be getting more of it in the near future, angel, count on it. I will not put up with this attitude, and this...this _idea_ that Greasers are suitable company. _I will _not_ have it!" _He knelt down and grabbed my hair roughly, causing me to grit my teeth tightly in pain.

"If you think that _little _spanking with the belt was your only punishment, you are sorely mistaken. You are grounded from every privilege you had for as long as I see fit. No more cheerleading, no more shopping, no more anything! You are to go to school, come home, go to your room, do your homework, and go to bed. That's it! I _will_ get some sense into that head of yours, even if it takes a spanking with that belt every day, you cheap little wh-"

"Don't you dare call her that, you piece of shit!" Came a shout from the door.

My hair was still clenched hard in Jeffrey's grip and was turned from the door, but I'd recognize that voice from anywhere.

"Soda?" I gasped.

**Dally's POV**

This was it. I had finally made it to the Soc's homelands. I didn't care if this was dangerous and out of place. I'd found danger before, and I'd find it again. Hell, danger is my middle name!

It was no easy trek to find my way to the Valance's street. I nearly had to beat a snobby good for nothing Soc to death just to get the address.

I had been searching around for any Soc that was around Willow's age that would even have an _idea _as to where she lives. I had luckily come upon a group of douchebag Soc's hanging around a light blue Mustang. There were only three of them, and I knew I could take them, given the severity and time limit of my situation.

"Hey!" I called out as I advanced toward them, trying to look as tough as possible.

The Soc's stared right back at me like a fish out of water. After all, I was a Greaser on the South side.

"What're you doing here, Greaser? Get lost on your way back to the junkyard you came out of?" Answered the tallest. He had bleached blond hair, and a badly grown goatee that made his pinched face look even more fucked up. His comment toward me was answered by a bunch of loud guffaws from his cronies.

I didn't have time for this shit...

I grabbed the leader by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the Mustang, hearing a loud crack as I busted the passenger window.

"You just cracked my window, you mother-" He started, but I cut him off by placing one of my hands strongly up against his throat, cutting off his air supply. He began to choke instantly. _What a damn pussy._

"Now you listen, and you listen good, you piece of-" I had begun, but one of his other friends grabbed me from behind, forcing me to release my hold on their leader.

I had the guy down in less than ten seconds. I had turned around, punched him square in his perfect, pretty boy jaw, sending him to the ground, where I landed a few more punches, he had began bleeding and gasping for air. _Probably attempting to hold back woman tears as well._

The leader and his remaining friend darted off, leaving the Mustang and their beaten friend behind. _Probably trying to go find the rest of their gang to take me on_. I relished the challenge, but finding Willow was far more important to me than a bunch of Soc dumb asses.

I turned my attention to my victim on the ground who had began whimpering. Seriously, this guy had probably never taken one damn punch in his life. I knelt down and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt as well, pulling him up to face me.

"Listen now, you son of a bitch, I don't have time for any of you or anyone else's bullshit. I need to find Willow Winst...Valance. An address."

The guy blinked up at me as if I was an alien from another planet.

"Willow will never go for a guy like you..." He sneered, smiling a bloody sarcastic grin at me.

Now, I probably shouldn't have hit him again...or three more times for that matter, but he practically asked me to hit him...I mean, where does it say, '_Dallas Winston can only _mostly_ kick a piece of shit's ass who deserves it?'_

"Tell me where she is, _now._" I hissed.

I must have instilled some fear in the guy, because he blurted out the address quicker than I thought he would. I thought I was going to be here all damn night just to get a street name! I just had to clear out of there before the other dickheads got back, or I'd lose even more time.

Now here I was at 2041 S Breckenridge Lane, standing in front of the most enormous house I had seen. This made my house look like less than a house a doll could live in. It was enormous! I didn't have much time to take in the house, I found a cop car in front of the house, and began to immediately wonder what the hell was going on.

The door opened, out came Jeffrey, the bastard he looked completely battered. His left eye was swollen shut, and he had blood all over his face and down his shirt. Behind him were two officers dragging someone out in handcuffs.

"Curtis?"

**Soda's POV**

Dally had left in almost no time flat. We all knew he was going to go and find Willow's house on the South side. I would have fought to go with him, but Darry insisted that I couldn't. That didn't mean I wasn't going to try. What Darry didn't know, wouldn't kill him.

I waited for about ten minutes after Dal left, that's when I made my move.

"Dar, I'm going for a walk, I've gotta clear my head..." I said, quietly.

"Do what you gotta do, little buddy," Darry stood up, and pulled me into a tight hug. "I'm sorry that you couldn't be the one doing the saving, but it's all for the good. I'm sure Dally will think of something."

Yeah, he would think of something, but it wouldn't be quick enough. I had no idea where Willow lived, but Two-Bit knew. The freak had followed Cherry Valance's car home late one night after she got off from cheerleading practice.

"Two-Bit," I called over to the TV.

"What's up, Pepsi-Cola?" Two-Bit asked, standing up but still keeping an eye on the TV.

"Can you come outside with me for a minute? I could use someone to vent to," I lied.

Two-Bit followed with no question, I knew he probably wasn't going to tell me where she lived after Darry had given me the negative on helping Willow. Once he and I were out of hearing range from Darry, I stated my objective.

"Two-Bit, I need you to tell me where Willow lives. It's critical."

"No can do, bud, Darry said you ain't goin-"

"Dammit, Two-Bit! I have to help her! What if it were _Cathy_, huh? Wouldn't you think of _some_ way to help her? Willow is _my _Cathy, Two-Bit, I can't just sit here and watch television thinking that Dally will get to her in time! I just can't! You've gotta help-"

"All right, all right, Soda, damn," Two-Bit cut me off. "She lives on Breckenridge Lane. I can't tell you the exact address, but there's a huge apple tree in the front yard, and a white picket fence. Also, the house is gigantic, you can't miss it."

"Thanks, Two-Bit, I hate to ask you another favor, but I gotta-"

"Borrow my car?" He guessed.

"Yeah, I gotta get there as fast as possible."

Luckily Two-Bit didn't give me much fuss about the car, he handed over the keys with one condition, when Darry found out, I was to say that I stole Two-Bit's keys and I already knew where Willow lived. "_No sense in _both_ our necks being on the line, Fizz-boy..." _Two-Bit had said.

I made it to the South side quicker than I realized. Breckenridge Lane was one of the first streets on my left, and boy, was it nice. The houses were huge. Bright green grass and flowers decorated the lawns, big expensive cars adorned the drive ways...but the biggest and most impressive house on the block was of course, the one with the apple tree. It was a huge two-story house, complete with a white picket fence, several rose bushes, and a beautiful stone walkway.

I parked at the house next door to avoid my headlights being seen. I turned off the ignition and stepped as stealthly as possible out of the car. I had made it this far. No sense in being detected early over too much noise.

I made my way to the huge wooden door, and tried my luck at the handle. _Open!_ Guess Jeffrey must have left it unlocked in drunken idiocy. I had to be careful, though. If anyone else spotted me, I was done for. I silently crept up the grand staircase that lead to the second floor.

It didn't take me long to find out where I needed to go, I could hear the shouting coming from way down the hall, I walked quicker and the yelling grew louder.

_"If you think that little spanking with the belt was your only punishment, you are sorely mistaken."_ So, I was too late, he had beaten her. I came as fast as I could, and I was still too late, it didn't mean that I wasn't going to get her away from this bastard of a "father."

"_You are grounded from every privilege you had for as long as I see fit. No more cheerleading, no more shopping, no more anything! You are to go to school, come home, go to your room, do your homework, and go to bed. That's it! I will get some sense into that head of yours, even if it takes a spanking with that belt every day, you cheap little wh-" _

That's when I had enough.

I burst through the door, pissed as hell, and shouted back as loud as Jeffrey,

"Don't you dare call her that, you piece of shit!"

I surprised even myself. I don't yell, I'm not confrontational, but when something I care about is in jeopardy, I fight for it.

"Soda?" Willow asked weakly from the floor. She didn't have any bruises that I could see, but the welts on her backside were most likely something fierce.

"The Greaser kid?" Jeffrey roared in outrage. It didn't even take him half a second to have me plastered against the wall, hand at my throat.

"How dare _you_ come into my house! You are trespassing on private property, not to mention, corrupting _my _little angel! Kid, you are in such deep shit..." Jeffrey snarled into my face, the stench of alcohol was overwhelming.

"Beg to differ sir, but I believe it is _you _who is in deep shit," I responded, grabbing Jeffrey's arm, and twisting it behind his back. The fact that he was as drunk as he was, gave me an advantage, but not for long.

Jeffrey mustered up all of his strength, tore away from my grip, and began stumbling toward the door. "You got _some _nerve, kid. I wonder how it'll hold in jail..."

Before I could react, he was out the door and the lock clicked immediately locking Willow and I in the room. I didn't dwell on the door, I ran to Willow's side, instantly. I picked her up gently, and supported her upper half with my arm around her shoulders.

"Soda," Willow whispered. "Why did you come here?"

"I failed you, I'm so sorry, Will. He hurt you and I didn't get here in time..." I almost began sobbing right there and then.

"No," She objected, bringing a hand to my face, caressing it with her soft touch.

"You're here, and I'm so happy you are, but at the same time, I will heal, Soda. He could've done worse. I got off lucky..."

"Lucky? Will, you hardly have enough strength to speak!"

"I know, but Soda, in a couple days I'll be fine...Jeffrey's going to send you to jail! You have to get out of here..."

"I won't leave you for anything."

"Not even your family, Soda? They need you. You can't go to jail."

"I'll risk it. I had to see you. I wish I could've gotten here, sooner...to stop him."

"Don't worry about it. You really have to go! I won't let you do this to yourself!"

"I'm not leaving you." Great, I had begun crying. My emotions could be my own worst enemy.

"Soda, think of Darry and Ponyboy..."

It was very unlike me to risk my family like this, but I felt for Willow in a way that I couldn't control. It hadn't been much time, but she was the one. I had to protect her in any way that I could. To be perfectly honest, I acted so quickly that I barely had time to think of the repercussions that would come from this. Oddly enough, I still felt better to be in danger at Willow's side than be sitting at home safe, and not being with her when she needed me.

"I know, Will. I'll deal with that when the time comes, but I had to be by your side, I couldn't leave you alone."

Willow started to respond, but the lock clicked suddenly, startling us, both. The door swung open to reveal Jeffrey, who now had a swollen eye, and blood all over his face and shirt. He had to have fallen down the stairs in his drunken stupor or something when he went to call the police.

"Dave, Charlie, that's the kid who tried to rob my house, corrupt my daughter, and did _this_ to me." Jeffrey insisted, gesturing to his face.

"That's...not...true..." Willow objected, weakly.

"She's terrified, in denial! Get this Greaser filth out of my house before he causes even more damage to my family's health! Thank God the police station's only down the road, or God knows _what _could have happened!"

Before I knew it, I was pinned to the ground and having my wrists cuffed, despite Willow's cries to let me go.

I was led down the stairs and out to a police car that was waiting for me. One of the officers pushed me in the back roughly, and slammed the door. As we were driving away, I could've sworn I saw Dally standing off to the side of the house with shock replacing his usually tough expression.

**Wow, I am **_**exhausted **_**after writing this chapter. A couple of things to go over: yeah, Soda is a little bit OOC, but to make this story work, he had to be. Normally, he probably wouldn't risk his family like this, but he feels strongly for Willow, and in fiction, anything can happen, right? Lol. Sorry if the POV's were a little hard to follow in this chapter, but I kinda wanted to get everyone's view point in, and have it all connect. So, anyways, let me know what you think, reviews help me out more than you know! **

**-Casey**


	20. The Secret Is Out

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders, S.E Hinton does. I do however; own Willow and all the characters you don't see in the book or movie.**

**Author Note: No words, obviously. It's been yet another year without an update from me. I'd like to say that I don't like to make excuses, but I'm pretty damn good with excuses. Lol. Life has been a hell of a ride this past year. I never wanted to abandon this story like I have…but also, I had a small…ok, I'll cut the crap, I had a HUGE case of writer's block, which I may still currently have, I'm not sure. Here's a brand new chapter and I'll let you guys decide if this chapter can hold up. Let's see if we can't get back into the swing of things, eh?**

**Casey**

_Reviewers:  
_randomgirl101 – Sorry to have left you for this long. I'm glad you enjoyed it and yes, Soda had to be OOC or it just wouldn't have worked. I try to leave people as mostly in character as possible, but sometimes you just gotta break the rules. ;D

outsiders8910 – Have you gone crazy yet? Lol. It has been a little while since an update has been made and you threatened to go crazy…will you even be able to read this next chapter from your padded room? Hehe, I kid, I'm glad you liked the chapter. =)

Dally's Little Girl – Soda will indeed do whatever it takes. Darry…ah, man, how is he gonna react? Guess we'll have to find out, won't we? ;)

Twilight90202 – You and me both, lol, I can't wait to see what's going to happen next. ;D

buddybears4ever – I'm super glad you like it, thanks for the review, hopefully this update will make up for my long absence. =P

lexiloo718 – You know what? _You're_ amazing. Thank you for thinking my story is amazing. =)

RedHotChillySteppers2008 – Your review is what woke me from my writer's coma. I got the email of a review alert when I hadn't been really thinking about the story and I feel that if someone's still reading this a year after the last update, why not take a little time to write a little something? Thanks for the review, it definitely woke me up. ;)

**Chapter 20.**

**Dally's POV**

'Oh shit,' was all I could think as I was watching none other than Sodapop Curtis get hauled away by the cops. What the hell was that boy thinking just busting in there ala Rebel With A Cause? He should have left it to me. If I had the pigs called on me, at least I could've been dragged off to the slam with no repercussions. Curtis, you little…

I began walking slowly towards the house as the car holding Soda drove away leaving nothing but that prick's silhouette in the doorway. I had made up my mind; I was going to finish what 'Fizzboy' had started. He wanted to take this asshole down and I'll be damned if I'd let his efforts go to waste. You call yourself tuff, Dallas Winston, now's the time to make it count.

**Willow's POV**

Darry. That was the only thought I had. Darry was going to _murder_ Soda. I didn't know Darry all that well, but from what little I've seen and been told, he was going to flip. I also couldn't help but think of little Ponyboy, what was going to happen to all of them over this? Would Pony and Soda be sent to Boy's Homes? Would Soda not even get that far and stay locked in jail?

My head swam at all these thoughts. I began to feel sick and dizzy from all the guilt weighing on my shoulders. If I hadn't stepped into Soda's life, he never would have done this. I might not have broken up a family.

I loud bang broke me out of my thoughts. What on earth? I waited a few seconds, not daring to venture downstairs in case Jeffrey was on his way back up in a vengeful rage. A few more sounds that I couldn't distinguish made their way to my disbelieving ears. I scrambled to stand up when a voice stopped me.

"You son of a bitch!"

I knew that voice. That cold voice filled with anger, hate, disdain, and underneath all…fear.

Dally?

"Where the hell did you come from you no good punk? Want to join your friend in jail? I'd be more than happy to accommodate that!"

My heart froze at Jeffrey's threat. He would do it. Not a thought in my mind said otherwise. The police hadn't gotten very far, one call from Jeffrey and Dally would join Soda in the back of that car. I had to do something. I couldn't just sit here like a damsel any longer. I am a Winston, Winston's show no fear. I know very little of what it takes to be a Winston, but now what the time to utilize what little I know.

I pulled myself up from the floor feeling my back scream in protest. I shuddered to think what my backside looked like, but from the feeling of it, it had to look like a true horror. Ignoring the throbbing pain, I tore out of my room and made my way straight for the top of the stairs hearing the shouting grow louder.

"You think you're so superior don't you? Let me tell you something, pal. You think you got all of this power over everyone, when the truth is, you're a fucking coward," Dally hissed at Jeffrey.

I had now taken in the scene. Dally was trapped up against the door with one of Jeffrey's hands holding his throat, the other hand was raised, clenched in a menacing fist. Now I knew what the sounds were. Flesh hitting flesh. Dally sported a fresh black eye and a cut lip. I couldn't see Jeffrey's condition due to the fact that his back was to me, but I secretly hoped he looked worse for wear than Dally did.

"A coward," Jeffrey sneered, "I'll show you what a supposed coward does to filth like you who enter a better man's house uninvited. I'll show you what it's like to be a father protecting his daughters from trash like you who try to influence them to be a waste of space like your families."

I watched in horror as Jeffrey landed a few blows to Dally's face. Why wasn't Dally fighting back? He just took the blows as if he had no intention to fight back. I was extremely surprised when I heard a dark chuckle come from Dally as he slowly turned his head back from the blows they just endured to stare Jeffrey right in the eye.

**Dally's POV  
**  
After that mother fucker's fist made a few more impressions on my face, I couldn't help but laugh at the little speech he just uttered to me. I could feel the blood well in my mouth from my severely cut lip. How I relished that coppery, rusty taste. This bastard was no match for my anger. I was going to take his happy ass down if it was the last thing I ever did.

"You think you're better than my family? You're nothing than a good for nothing piece of shit," I declared.

The bastard's eyes flashed dangerously. He opened his lopsided mouth for a retort, but I wasn't finished.

"I know your secret."

The piece of garbage simply smiled at my declaration.

"Secret? I have nothing to hide. You're a good for nothing punk who thinks he can scare me with his 1st grade logic. I'm an open book, kid. You've got nothing on me," Jeffrey responded seemingly unaware that he was full of shit.

"Willow's not yours."

Jeffrey looked taken aback by what I just said. He recovered immediately, but his eyes still held his momentary fear.

"So not only are you from a filthy run-down background, but you're also screwed in the head…wonderful, this will make locking you away for good that much easier, kid. To insinuate that the daughter I have raised since she was born is not mine is-"

"She looks nothing like you," I interrupted.

"She got her looks from her mother, you rude little shit, now if you will let me finish-"

"Not a chance in hell, you prick. For once in your sadass life, you're right. She does look like her mother. Like _my _mother," I retorted.

Understanding was slowly starting to show onto Jeffrey's face.

"That would be impossible. My wife never had a son—"

"Back then, you didn't have a wife, did you _Jeffrey_, _" I_ hissed at the name. The very word just put a bad taste in my mouth.

"Of course I—"

"No, the love of your life was drugs, am I right? You had many loyal customers, some who couldn't pay you what they owed, so you took a different form of payment, didn't you, you mother fucker?" I shouted.

A moment of silence filled the air. It was deafening. I could see Willow standing at the top of the stairs looking pale as a sheet. I could tell she wanted to come down and help, but I was glad that she stayed where she was. She looked beaten enough by the way she was holding herself up with the railing of the stairs. I could only guess that whilst her face was unmarred, other places probably held the damage.

"You're the other Winston brat…" Jeffrey uttered in disbelief.

**Darry's POV**

Soda had been gone for an extremely long time. I checked my watch tentatively. Maybe I lost track of time and it seemed to be going slower than I realized. _11:45_ it read. I felt my heart race. Soda left a little after 9 to go on that walk and he'd been gone for over 2 hours! I jumped up from my chair where I had been reading in silence that I never get to enjoy. Come to think of it, it was strange that no one had been around all evening. I knew Dally had gone off to help Willow after I told Soda he couldn't…

It dawned on me. Soda had gone outside with Two-Bit and not less than 5 minutes later did I hear the car leave. Did Two-Bit take him to Willow? I'd murder him if he did.

I threw on my coat in haste and made my way off on foot down the road to the park where I knew Two-Bit liked to hang out with Johnny at this time of night. He and Soda better be there with the car, or there would be hell to pay.

I stomped across the wet grass not even caring that my jeans were becoming soaked by the dew rising from where my feet landed. I glanced every which way for a sign of Two-Bit's car, but what I did find was none other than the smiling Mickey Mouse loving Neanderthal and Johnny sitting atop the jungle gym. No sign of my kid brother was to be found. I closed the distance between us and approached the front of the jungle gym. Two-Bit was in the middle of telling a joke when Johnny spotted my arrival. He slapped two bit on the shoulder and pointed towards me.

Two-Bit turned to me smiling, but as soon as he took in who I was, his face fell into an immediate expression of guilt and fear.

"Two-Bit," I began as calmly as I could, but I could still see my tone put the fear of God into him, "Would you mind telling me where I might be able to find my kid brother?"

**Alright, sort of shortish chapter, I apologize. I'm still trying to get my sea legs back after my long hiatus. Leave me a review to let me know if you would like more. =)**

- Casey 


End file.
